JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State volleyball team hit a dominant .352 offensively as a team on its way to beat visiting Southeast Missouri on Monday afternoon, capping a short two-game sweep of the Redhawks in the opening weekend of the season.
 
JSU (2-0) swept SEMO (0-2) in tight sets (25-20, 25-22, 25-22) Monday, and won six of the seven total sets played over the last two days against the preseason favorite to win the Ohio Valley Conference this spring.
 
The Gamecocks saw a trio of fresh faces each hit over .400 in their second match. Junior newcomer Katie Montgomery tied a team high with 11 kills and hit  .455 with just one error. Freshmen Courtney Glotzbach hit .409 on her way to 10 kills in her second-straight double-digit performance, and freshman Sadie Brown put down seven attacks on nine attempts from her middle position for a .778 clip. The Dublin, Ohio, native also compiled a team-best four blocks to help shut down the Redhawk attack.
 
Junior Lena Kindermann matched Montgomery with 11 kills, while senior Kaylie Milton added nine for a balanced attacked. Orchestrating the offensive effort was senior setter Lexie Libs, who dished 41 of JSU's 43 assists.
 
On the opposite side, sophomore libero Erin Carmichael finished two shy of her career mark with 24 digs. Next to Carmichael, sophomore Kylee Quigley and freshman Tahya Pozorski defended the Gamecock back row, slowing one of the top offenses in the league.
 
With JSU leading 18-12 in the first set, SEMO called a timeout, but back-to-back blocks by JSU following the break swung the momentum right back to the Gamecocks. Brown and Glotzbach combined on the first turn-away, following by the combination of Brown and Milton on the ensuing rally. JSU reached set point at 24-16, before SEMO picked up four-straight points before the Gamecocks closed the frame.
 
The second set saw JSU down early, taking a timeout trailing 11-7. Brown and Kindermann would later have consecutive kills to pull JSU within one, before the duo combined to block SEMO's Zoey Beasley to make it 15-15. Still even at 20-20, Glotzbach and Montgomery accounted for four of JSU's last five kills to seal the set, 25-22.
 
A day after falling short of a three-set sweep, JSU went ahead and put the match away on Monday with another 25-22 decision in the final frame.

"I'm really proud of this team for bringing their energy and focus all weekend," said JSU head coach Todd Garvey. "It takes a mature team to play consistently, especially when it's a back--to-back with the same opponent."

"The wins this weekend took all 15 players on our roster. I love the depth of this team and how much they push each other in practice every day." 
 
JSU hits the road next for two-straight weeks on the road, beginning with a weekend series at SIU-Edwardsville next Sunday.