COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Jacksonville State volleyball team secured its spot in next week's Ohio Valley Conference tournament, following a sweep of Tennessee Tech on the road Wednesday night.
The win improved JSU to 16-13 overall, and more importantly, 8-7, in league play heading into Saturday's season finale. JSU's third-set comeback sealed the sweep of the match and the season series as JSU has now defeated Tech in six-straight matches dating back to 2016.
The postseason ticket was punched with the No. 9 written on players' and coaches' hands after the Gamecocks lost their senior leader
Mackenzie Rombach prior to Tuesday's contest. A reoccurring leg injury once again sidelined the Gamecock captain, just 15 kills shy of 1,000 for her career and already the second-most blocks in school history.
A trio of Gamecocks led the way with 11 kills each in
Kaylie Milton,
Lena Kindermann and
Kaylee Frear. Frear hit .526 with just one error and added a team-high four blocks as the Colorado Springs, Colo. Native, surpassed 100 blocks for the year. Sophomore
Lexie Libs dished 30 assists to go along with 15 digs in her double-double night. Milton also registered a double-double with 11 digs, followed by
Addie Halverson and
Dani Steele with nine, and senior
Ashley Clingan with eight.
The opening frame was back-and-forth before a kill by Kindermann, followed by an ace from Clingan sparked a 4-0 run to break away from a 10-10 tie. JSU held the slim margin to 19-15 when Tech call for a timeout. Out of the break, TTU cut the deficit to three at 21-18, but the Gamecocks won the next four points to take the set.
The second set was just as tight until Halverson broke a 15-all tie to hand JSU the lead. Still up one at 20-19, JSU finished on a 5-1 run thanks to a trio of kills from Frear.
The Golden Eagles responded following the intermission to jump out to a 7-1 advantage to start the third. The lead became 21-13 and looked to be heading to a fourth before the Gamecocks began to piece together a late rally. Kills by Kindermann and Milton drew JSU within 21-17. Kindermann delivered another putaway off a bu,p from Anderson to make it 22-20. From there, JSU tied the game at 23-23 and Milton ended things with a big kill at the end of a long rally to clinch the match.
JSU will host Southeast Missouri at 2 p.m. on Saturday to celebrate Senior Day. JSU's three seniors will be recognized in a brief ceremony prior to first serve. Following all league action from the day, Jax State will learn its opening round opponent for the OVC Tournament based on the final conference standings.
