PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Jacksonville State volleyball team took undefeated Boston College down to the wire before a tough five-set defeat in the opening game of the Grand Canyon Invitational in Phoenix.
Seeking its first victory over a "Power Five" foe since defeating Tennessee in 2013, JSU dropped a tough one in the desert on Friday afternoon in the school's first-ever meeting with Boston College: 25-19, 20-25, 20-25, 25-15, 14-16.
Junior
Kaylee Frear and freshman
Lena Kindermann led a quartet of Gamecocks who finished with double-digit kills, both with 18. It set a career high for Kindermann, and a season-best mark for Frear who's career best stands at 23.
Sadie Anderson and
Addie Halverson also dipped into double figures with 12 kills, which marked Halverson's career best. The offense was guided by sophomore
Lexie Libs who dished 52 of JSU's 62 assists.
Against one of the tallest oppositions the Gamecocks will face all season, JSU hit just .168 as a team, but a stellar defense limited the Eagles (4-0) from the Atlantic Coast Conference to just a .172 clip. Like on offense, four Gamecocks also reached double figure digs led by libero
Kaylie Milton's career-high 23. Local Phoenix, Ariz., product, Anderson turned in a double-double with 17 digs, followed by Libs with 16 and
Dani Steele with 12. Senior Mackenzie
Jax State started fast in the first breaking away from a 6-6 tie slowly expand its lead to as many as eight at 18-10. The opening frame saw JSU's highest hitting percentage at .300, as the Gamecocks took a 1-0 match lead with a 25-19 set victory.
BC rallied back in the second. Following a tie at 18, the Eagles reeled off four-straight points to buikd the cushion it needed for a 25-20 win. The third resulted in a similar score after JSU fell behind early, 14-10, and never regained momentum hitting just .040 for the frame.
The fourth set began almost point-for-point, before the Gamecocks took control down the stretch. While trailing 12-10, Anderson and Kindermann produced consecutive kills to even the match and spark a 15-3 run that saw Jax State cruise into a decisive fifth frame.
JSU got on the board first in the fifth by way of another kill from Frear, but the Eagles bounced back to lead 8-6 at the switch. BC was poised to take control of the match up 13-10, but Anderson and Kindermann responded with another pair of kills to pull within one. JSU continued its momentum in tying the match at 13, before Anderson and Rombach combined on a block that put JSU facing match point. A swing for the win resulted in a BC block to even the score at 14 as the Eagles would take the final two points to win 16-14 and survive.
JSU will return to action at the GCU Arena on Saturday beginning with host Grand Canyon at 9:30 and wrapping up the weekend against Southern Utah at 5:30. Live stats will be available for both matches at JSUGamecockSports.com, while the GCU match will also feature a video stream.
