JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State volleyball team split the final day of the Jax State Invitational on Saturday to finish off the opening weekend of the season with a 3-1 mark.
 
The Gamecocks (3-1) fell to the Little Rock (4-0) Trojans earlier in the afternoon, before capping off the evening with a victory over Mercer (2-2) in the tournament finale.
 
Following a perfect opening day on Friday where the Gamecocks failed to drop a single set, JSU struggled in its first match of the day against Little Rock. A stingy Trojan defense held Jax State to just an .087 combined team hitting percentage en route to a 25-18, 25-16, 25-21 setback.
 
Head coach Todd Garvey played around with his lineup throughout the opening weekend, which saw several individual efforts shine at different stages. Four newcomers made their Gamecock debuts on Friday in outside hitters Lena Kindermann and Addie Halverson, setter Lexie Libs and defensive specialist Jade Humphrey. Two more Gamecocks joined that list on Saturday as freshmen Claire Behan and Anna Bryant entered in the night contest against Mercer.
 
Libs totaled 61 assists overall on Saturday, including 34 in the four-set win over Mercer. In the match, Kindermann led the team in kills for the first time with 12, just ahead of Halverson and Sadie Anderson with nine. Across the net, JSU collected nine total blocks led by Kaylee Frear and Mackenzie Rombach who each had three solo stops. They were back by a solid backrow featuring sophomore Kaylie Milton who continued her strong start as JSU's libero notching double-digit digs with 11. Milton was joined by senior Ashley Clingan and sophomores Jade Humphrey and Dani Steele along who's defensive efforts limited the Bears to just hitting just .200 for the night.
 
Jax State will work to continue to improve in the gym this week at practice before taking off to Phoenix, Arizona for next weekend's Grand Canyon Tournament.