JACKSONVILLE – Playing in front of a home crowd for the first time this season, the Jacksonville State volleyball team reeled off a pair of 3-0 sweeps in the opening day of the Jefferson's/State Farms Invitational at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
 
The Gamecocks (8-3) downed North Carolina A&T (25-15, 25-20, 25-12) in the morning match, before return in the day's finale to top the Lady Braves of Alcorn State for the second time this season.
 
Senior Allyson Zuhlke shined against the A&T Aggies with 14 kills and no errors for a .700 percentage. The Tomball, Texas, native finished the day with 24 kills as the only Gamecock in double figures both matches. Senior Charis Ludtke recorded 19 kills on the day as she edges closer to a milestone mark.
 
Against N.C. A&T, three Gamecocks had at least eight digs in a balanced defensive effort led by freshman Madison Cooler with nine. Cooler later matched her career high with eight kills in the nightcap against Alcorn State. Kaylie Frear came off the bench against A&T to post four kills and a pair of blocks.
 
An offense which hit above .300 all day was paced by 56 assists from senior setter Jennifer Hart. Across the net, senior libero Hannah Kirk had 17 digs.
 
Head coach Terry Gamble spread the action among all 16 Gamecocks on Friday. Redshirt-freshman Kennedy Powell made her long-awaited Gamecock debut against ASU as Jax State never allowed more than 12 points by the visiting Lady Braves. Sophomore Maddie Cloutier collected a trio of digs along the back row in both contests, while hometown product Ashley Clingan added four digs.
 
JSU will return to action tomorrow with an 11:30 first serve against Mississippi Valley, and will conclude the tournament with a 4:30 matchup with UL-Monroe at The Pete. Admission is free to all JSU home volleyball matches. Live stats are also available at JSUGamecockSports.com.