JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State volleyball team dropped its Ohio Valley Conference home opener on Friday evening, 3-1, to Tennessee State inside Kennamer Hall.
 
The Gamecocks (7-9, 0-3 OVC) fell in their third straight match to begin league play, while TSU (5-8, 3-0 OVC) remained unbeaten since entering conference action.
 
The tightly-contested matchup saw the Gamecocks win the second set, 25-22, but fall by the narrowest margin, 25-23, in the other three games. It marked just the second time JSU suffered a setback on its home floor this season.
 
JSU Fought back from a 23-18 deficit in the first to cut the lead to one, before TSU took set point to fend off the late rally. Jax State was successful in the second pulling off a late comeback, with a 5-0 run to erase a 20-16 deficit and hang on for the win.
 
TSU won the crtical third set, pulling away from a 21-all tie, to grab a match advantage, and then opened a 17-9 lead in the fourth before the Gamecocks began another late surge. A 7-1 run pulled JSU within two, which was eventually cut to one at 23-22, but the Red and White were unable to ever grab control of the game falling in the end.
 
Senior Mackenzie Rombach, junior Kaylee Frear and freshman Lena Kindermann all reached double-digit kills in the setback while sophomore setter Lexie Libs dished 45 assists. For Rombach, her second kill of the night sent the Ottawa, Ill, native over 900 for her career. The back end was led by sophomore Dani Steele's career-high 15 digs in her libero start. Kaylie Milton and Addie Halverson finished with 11 and 10 digs, respective, ahead of Libs and Ashley Clingan with eight.
 
JSU will return to action Saturday night at Kennamer Hall against Belmont in an 8 p.m. match following JSU's Homecoming football game.