LAFAYETTE, La. – The Jacksonville State volleyball team ran its winning streak to four matches on Friday with victories over Nicholls State and Mississippi Valley to open the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Tournament.
The Gamecocks (4-1) downed the Colonels in four sets (25-13, 20-25, 25-22, 27-25) in the first match of the day, before returning to sweep MVSU to conclude the opening day.
JSU was paced by a dominating performance from junior
Mackenzie Rombach in the opener against Nicholls. The Ottawa, Ill., native led the team with 13 kills and seven blocks, coming just shy of her career highs in both categories. Seniors
Charis Ludtke and
Allyson Zuhlke joined the double-digit kill club with 11 and 10, apiece. The offense was directed by senior
Jennifer Hart's 30 assists.
The Gamecocks got off to a fast start against the Colonels grabbing a 12-5 advantage in the first and forcing Nicholls to call for time. JSU increased its lead out to double figures on its way to a 25-13 result. However, Nicholls flipped the script in the second forcing JSU to call an early timeout after falling behind. The Colonels would lead the rest of the set to even the match at 1-1.
In the third, Jax State began to build a cushion late as freshman
Madison Cooler put away one of her seven total kills to make it a 19-13 contest. Nicholls would rally late, but the Gamecocks held on for a 25-22 set win. The two squads hardly separated in the fourth frame which saw Nicholls face set-point with leads at 24-23 and 25-24, but were staved off each time by the Gamecocks. JSU eventually would take the lead and secure the match with a 27-25 extra-points victory.
Senior
Hannah Kirk led a balanced defense with 22 digs, while 10 total Gamecocks recorded multiple digs. At the net, Rombach's seven blocks were only part of the story as
Kaylee Frear pitched in six rejections, followed by
Madison Cooler with four.
Jax State stayed hot in the afternoon match against MVSU, dropping the Devilettes in straight sets. The Gamecocks had a strong offensive afternoon hitting .323 in the first set, .250 in the second and .290 in the third and final frame. Frear led the Gamecocks with a season-high nine kills against MVSU.
The Gamecocks return to Earl K. Long Gym tomorrow for a noon matchup with Houston Baptist, followed by a 4 p.m. first serve against the host school, Louisiana. Live stats will be available for both matches, along with a video stream link for the Louisiana match at JSUGamecockSports.com.
