CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Jacksonville State volleyball team finished its four-match road stretch with a dominant 3-0 sweep of Eastern Illinois (25-20, 25-14, 25-17) on Saturday at Lantz Arena.
 
The Gamecocks (12-8, 6-2 Ohio Valley) snapped a four-match losing skid to EIU (1-7 OVC), and picked up its first road win in the series since 2011. At the midway point of the conference schedule, Jax State remains in a multi-team tie for first place.
 
JSU used a balanced attack to take down the Panthers in straight sets. Redshirt-junior Sadie Anderson led the way with a dozen kills, followed by sophomore Lena Kindermann and senior Kaylee Frear with nine and eight, respectively. Kindermann and Frear each hit .400 or above and added a pair of blocks. Junior Lexie Libs finished with 32 assists, while freshman Erin Carmichael upped 17 attacks.
 
The opening stanza was the closest of the day. Freshman Kylee Quigley added an early ace and the Gamecock led 11-6 forcing an EIU timeout. JSU was inching closer to a set one win when a few errors brought the Panthers back within three at 20-17, but JSU shut the door on any comeback with a 25-20 win. Leading 10-7 in the second, Jax State used a 10-1 run to pull away in the set. Senior Shayla Schmidt added an ace during the run as the Peoria, Ariz., native finished with a kill and three blocks. The Gamecocks proceeded to close out the frame, 25-14, and take a 2-0 match lead.
 
JSU left no doubt in the third racing out to a 7-1 advantage on its way to securing a 25-17 decision to complete the sweep. Over the past two weekends, JSU faced four road opponents and swept three of those contests.
 
The second-half of the OVC season begins next weekend as the Gamecocks host Murray State and Austin Peay at Pete Mathews Coliseum.