JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State volleyball team earned wins in both of its opening matches on Friday in the Jax State Invitational, improving to 8-1 on the season. 
 
The Gamecocks defeated Nicholls in three straight sets, 25-11, 25-14, 25-22, for the 3-0 sweep and their seventh win of the season., setting a program record with a .528 hitting percentage in the match.
In the nightcap, JSU defeated South Alabama 3-2 in a tiebreaking fifth set.

"We talk a lot about [not quitting]. That's one of the things that is most important to me as a coach and a program is to step on the court and out fight every team we play," said Head Coach Todd Garvey. "Every time we step on the court no matter who we are playing we want to have the confidence that we are going to win the match and I think that comes from our hard work in practice."
 
JSU held the Nicholls to just 11 points in the first set and 14 in the second set as offense shined. The Gamecocks hit an impressive .526 in the first and posted a .576 mark in the second.

The Gamecocks fell behind 19-14 in the third set, before a 5-1 run tied the match at 20. JSU outscored the Colonels the rest of the way for the 25-22 set win.
 
Jax State hit .528 for the match, a season-high and new match record in program history.  Senior Lena Kindermann led the squad with 12 kills, averaging 4.0 per set. Fellow seniors Addie Halverson and Kaylie Milton added 10 and eight kills, respectively. Halverson hit .750 in the match, to lead the squad. Kindermann posted a .625 hit percentage on 16 total attacks. Freshman Paulina Lindberg was important on the defensive end for JSU, recording two solo blocks. Lexie Libs totaled 22 assists through two sets while Macie Garrison added 12 in just one set played. Erin Carmichael recorded eight digs to lead the Gamecocks. In addition to her stellar offensive performance, Halverson added a team-high two service aces.
 
JSU picked up where they left off in the second match of the day, jumping ahead of the Jaguars two sets to none.

The Gamecocks held a four-point lead, 17-13, midway through the first set following a South Alabama attack error. The visitors cut the lead to two, 16-18, before kills from Kindermann, Kaylie Milton and Kylee Quigley put the Gamecocks up 22-16. Back-to-back kills from Milton gave JSU the opening-set win, 25-21.

The second set was back and forth the entire way, with neither side holding more than a two-point lead through out.  A kill from Quigley put the Gamecocks up 24-23 before a South Alabama killed evened the set 24-24. Katie Montgomery lifted JSU, 25-24, following a kill and a Jaguars attack error sealed the win for the Gamecocks, 26-24.
With a 2-0 lead in the match, South Alabama responded with back-to-back wins in the third and fourth sets in dominant fashion, winning 25-14 and 25-13.

In the winner-take-all fifth set, JSU and South Alabama traded the first several points to start. Behind 8-7, JSU used a 3-0 run to take a 10-8 lead following a Milton kill. The Gamecocks extended the lead to three following a Jaguar attack error. Milton and Quigley closed out the match with back-to-back kills, winning 15-12 and securing the 3-2 match win.

"The first game this morning seems like it was yesterday because it's been such a long day," said Garvey.  "South Alabama, I knew they were going to be good. I think a lot of their coach, he is a good friend of mine and a very good defensive coach. They have one of the better defenses in the country. What was awesome is that they out hit us .245 to .130 and we still found a way to win the game. I think that says a lot about our team's grit and determination. We were not playing out best, especially in that third and fourth set but for them to lose the way we did the third and fourth and just still believe in themselves to come out and execute and play the way we did the fifth I thought was an awesome sign."

Kindermann led the Gamecocks in kills for the second straight match while Quigley and Montgomery added 10 and nine, respectively. Libs came up big defensively for the home side, totaling a team-high four blocks. In addition, Quigley recorded a career-high 19 digs.

South Alabama bested the Gamecocks in most statistical categories, expect for service errors where JSU committed just six, compared to 13 for the Jaguars.

 JSU wraps up the weekend slate hosting Southern Miss on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. Admission is free and fans may also stream the match on ESPN+.