JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State started fast and finished strong en route to its first Ohio Valley Conference win of the season Saturday night inside Kennamer Hall against the Belmont Bruins.
 
Five Gamecocks (8-9, 1-3 OVC) reached double figures defensively in digs led by sophomore Lexie Libs' 16 as part of her double-double along with 44 assists. Addie Halverson and Kaylie Milton also notched double-doubles as Jax State put an end to a five match skid. Milton tallied 12 kills and 11 digs, while Halverson recorded 10-and-11. Ashley Clingan and Dani Steele rounded out the Gamecocks with 10-or-more digs which limited BU to a .133 clip overall.
 
Freshman Lena Kindermann led offensively with 16 kills, while Kayle Frear pitched in nine putaways.
 
JSU used a couple of big runs to grab a 2-0 match advantage after pulling away from 15-all and 12-all ties. One of Frear's kill sparked a 5-0 run in the first with Steele serving to take a 20-15 lead, and continued on to finish on a 10-3 stretch to claim the opening set. JSU pulled away late again in the second with a 13-4 run following a 12-12 deadlock.
 
The Bruins fought back to extend the match with a 25-23 victory in the third. JSU struggled with an .086 attack percentage in the frame, while Belmont posted its best offensive set hitting .194.
 
The Gamecocks bounced back in the fourth to close the door on the Bruins in a decisive 25-14 outcome. The win is the third for JSU in the last five meetings against Belmont, after falling in th eight prior matchups since BU joined the league in 2012.
 
JSU remains at home for a Tuesday evening contest against Tennessee Tech schedule for 6 p.m. at Kennamer. Live stats will be available at JSUGamecockSports.com.