JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State volleyball team opens the second half of the Ohio Valley Conference season on the road this weekend at two of the top contenders in the league in Austin Peay and Murray State.
JSU (11-10, 4-4 OVC) enters the weekend sixth in the conference standings, just one match back of third place in what is becoming a tight OVC race. The weekend travel for the Gamecocks begins with a visit to Clarksville, Tenn., and Austin Peay (18-3. 7-1 OVC). Despite winning both the OVC regular season and tournament titles last season, the Govs were picked preseason to finish second in the league, behind perennial power, Murray State. The preseason favorite Racers (11-9, 5-3 OVC) will be JSU's second stop of the weekend on Saturday as the Gamecocks wrap up their tough road trip.
Friday night's match at ASPU will be the 30 th meeting between the two schools, with JSU holding a slim 15-14 advantage. JSU's last visit to APSU's Dunn Center came last November when the Govs hosted the OVC Tournament. The Gamecocks will look to knock a recent trend of losses in Clarksville as it goes for the first road win against the Govs since 2012.
Both weekend matches will feature live stats, with Friday's contest against APSU also streaming on the OVC Digital Network. Links to each will be available at JSUGamecockSports.com.
On Saturday, JSU takes on MSU who begins the weekend just one match ahead of the Gamecocks in the conference race. Jax State leads the all-time series, 15-8, and owns a 7-4 record in road matchups. However, the Gamecocks will be looking to take one away from the Racers who have eliminated JSU from the OVC Tournament each of the past two seasons.
Sophomore
Lexie Libs' 855 assists this season directs a Gamecock offense that ranks third in the OVC in team hitting percentage led by freshmen
Lena Kindermann and
Addie Halverson along with upperclassmen
Kaylee Frear and
Mackenzie Rombach. The later duo have combined for just as significant impact on defense with 135 combined blocks.
JSU's depth has improved with the return of redshirt-sophomore
Sadie Anderson, who made her way back to the court last weekend after a series of injuries sidelined most of her first half of the season. The Phoenix, Ariz., native joins sophomore
Kaylie Milton as versatile players that can't play all around on the floor. Milton has 129 kills to go along with a team-high 229 digs as she's spent time at both libero and outside hitter. Behind Milton,
Jade Humphrey (169),
Ashley Clingan (123) and recent libero
Dani Steele (122 digs) have supplied JSU with a solid back row that's limited conference opponents to just a .186 hitting mark against the Gamecocks.
