JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State University Volleyball team will continue ASUN conference play this weekend with a road trip to Eastern Kentucky and Bellarmine.

The Gamecocks enter the first ASUN road test of the season 12-4 overall and 2-1 in conference play following the ASUN Crossover weekend.
 
JSU sits atop the West division alongside Lipscomb following wins over Stetson (3-0) and Kennesaw State (3-2) to begin the 2021 conference campaign. The only loss was a 3-2 nail bitter to North Florida this past weekend.

The Gamecocks will face Eastern Kentucky on Friday, Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. CST in Richmond, Kentucky and Bellarmine on Saturday Oct. 2 at 2 p.m. CST in Louisville, Kentucky.
 
Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats will be available at JSUgamecocksports.com.

The Gamecocks are 1-1 on the road this season, having played just two true road games so far. JSU is also 1-2 in neutral site contests.

The weekend road trip will see the continuation of a long series between the Gamecocks and the Colonels of Eastern Kentucky while beginning a new series with the Bellarmine Knights.

Friday's match will mark the 38^th meeting all-time between JSU and EKU. The Gamecocks lead the series 21-16. JSU and EKU both joined the ASUN this season, continuing the series. Jax State has never played Bellarmine who recently made the transition from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I in 2018.

Offense has been a constant bright spot for the Gamecocks this season but this past weekend, defense carried the squad to its first two ASUN wins of the season. Against Stetson the Gamecocks recorded 17 total blocks which set a three-match school record and is the second most all-time in any match in school history. Against Stetson, Zoe Gonzlaes led the Gamecocks with 13 blocks, setting a new school record. In the 3-2 win over Kennesaw State the Gamecocks' back row defense proved to be the difference, totaling 65 digs compared to just 51 for KSU. Erin Carmichael and Kylee Quigley each totaled 18 while Lexie Libs chipped in 12.


With the trip to Louisville, Kentucky, Coach Garvey will return to his hometown. Garvey graduated from the University of Louisville in 2003 and took over for his dad as the Head Coach at Mercy Academy in 2006. Garvey picked up where his father left off, leading the team to a National Championship in 2014 before ascending to the college coaching ranks at Purdue in 2015. From 1977-79 Garvey's father, Ken, was the Volleyball Head Coach at Bellarmine.
 
The Gamecocks continue to succeed offensively throughout the ASUN, ranking third with a .240 attack percentage. The squad also is second in the ASUN in kills per set, averaging 13.21. JSU leads the ASUN with 766 total kills on the season which ranks 10th across NCAA Division I.  Lena Kindermann leads Jax State with 187 on the season and is fourth in the ASUN with a .320 hitting percentage. Gonzales ranks third and is hitting .365 with 71kills thus far. JSU posted a program record .528 hit percentage against Nicholls. In a season-high 20 kill performance against Purdue Fort Wayne, Kindermann hit .667, the fourth-best hit percentage in program history and a career-high with at least 20 attempts.