NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Jacksonville State volleyball team suffered a tough five-set setback on the road at Tennessee State Saturday night in its first Ohio Valley Conference loss of the season. 
 
The Gamecocks (12-9, 2-1) fell for the first time in league play as the Tigers (9-8, 2-2 OVC) rallied for their second five-set victory in three days.
 
The first set was back-and-forth early until junior Allyson Zuhlke's kill broke an 8-8 tie and sparked an 11-3 run for the visitors. The Tigers trimmed the deficit to five, 22-17, but could climb no closer as the Gamecocks took the opening frame, 25-17. Sophomore Mackenzie Rombach set the tone early with four blocks in the first, finishing the night with nine total.
 
Trailing 11-9 in the second, a TSU service error started a 5-0 run which pushed the Gamecocks ahead for good. Jax State extended its lead to as many as six, 21-15, before the Tigers rallied back to make it a one-point contest at 22-21. Junior Charis Ludtke came up with a key kill, one of her 11 for the match, to hand serve back over the Gamecocks to secure a 25-22 set victory.
 
As was the case in the first two games, the two teams exchanged serves early, but this time it was the Tigers who used a 5-0 run to pull out to a 17-12 advantage. JSU made runs to come back, but the Tigers managed to maintain the margin for a 25-20 victory, snapping a seven-set win-streak for the Gamecocks going back to their OVC opener versus Eastern Kentucky.
 
TSU opened the fourth with a 5-2 lead and led nearly the entire frame as the Gamecocks hit just .100 for the set compared to .324 from the other side of the net. The Tigers pulled away late for the 25-18 win sending the match to a decisive fifth set.
 
 In the fifth and final set, JSU fell behind 4-2 early, but took an 8-7 lead into the changeover. The score evened at 10, 12 and 13 before JSU faced its first match-point situation down 14-13. The Gamecocks fended off defeat twice, before dropping the fifth, 18-16.
 
JSU remains in the Music City to face last season's OVC Tournament champion Belmont at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Live stats and video stream will be available at JSUGamecockSports.com.