JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State volleyball (19-5, 7-4) fell in five sets (15-25, 25-21, 25-17, 19-25, 12-15) to Florida Gulf Coast (17-6, 7-3) on Friday night.
 
"Tonight's game was back-and-forth all night long," JSU head coach Todd Garvey said after the loss. "FGCU would play great and then momentum would switch, and we would play great."
 
That tit-for-tat affair started with an entertaining first set. The Eagle offense shined with several 3-0 and 4-0 scoring runs. Although Jacksonville State's offense had bright spots as well, six unforced errors led to a decisive 25-15 set win for FGCU.
 
A constantly tight second frame followed. A staunch Jax State defense slowed down Florida Gulf Coast just enough, however, and their six attack errors proved to be the difference. That defensive effort from the home squad gave a nice Friday-night crowd plenty of reasons to cheer in a 25-21 victory.
 
The third set saw Jacksonville State produce one of their best starts all season. An 11-0 scoring run to open the interval had a raucous Pete Mathews Coliseum rocking. While FGCU found their footing late and made things somewhat interesting, the deficit was too great to overcome, and Garvey's squad cruised to an eight-point triumph.
 
Matt Botsford's Eagles would not lie down late. Their comeback began in the fourth set, where 4-0 and 6-0 scoring spurts carried them to a large advantage. The Gamecocks would rally as well, taking 12 of 16 consecutive points, but a strong finish knotted up the important ASUN affair.
 
JSU simply could not catch a break in the fifth and final set. Six attack errors spelled doom for the Gamecocks, and FGCU's .400 hit percentage created just enough separation in their 15-12 fifth-set win.
 
"I thought we played at a really high level in the second and third sets and then lost our momentum in the start of the fourth set," Garvey said. "We have to play a little cleaner to start the fourth set and limit our errors."
 
Jacksonville State hit .199 in the match versus FGCU's .271 percentage. The Gamecocks finished with 10 aces and 68 digs- much more than that of the Eagles- but Florida Gulf Coast's eight blocks and greater efficiency played a big part in their road victory.
 
Fifth-year outside hitter Lena Kindermann had a match-high 19 kills on a .256 clip. The Neuenkirchen, Germany, native added two blocks and a dig on Friday. Graduate transfer Sophie Riemersma had 12 kills and three digs and redshirt sophomore Courtney Glotzbach added nine kills, eight digs, and two blocks. Fifth-year middle blocker Katie Montgomery set a season-high of four aces against the Eagles and finished with eight kills, four digs, and three blocks. Senior Zoe Gonzales had six kills and a block while graduate transfer setter Claire Ochs ended up with 45 assists and 12 digs.
 
Senior libero Erin Carmichael, who was honored in pregame with a game ball commemorating her 1300^th career dig, led the match with 20 digs and had two aces. Classmate Kylee Quigley added three aces and 12 digs while sophomore Brooklyn Schiffli finished with eight digs, one ace, and tallied just the second kill of her 2022 campaign in Friday's defeat.
 
"This conference is really good this year, very deep, and very evenly matched," Garvey said. "We have a quick turnaround with a good Stetson team coming in tomorrow, so we're looking forward to the challenge."
 
The Gamecocks return to play on Saturday afternoon in their penultimate home match of the regular season. Jax State will play host to the Hatters in another ASUN test. First serve is set for 3 p.m. at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
 
Admission to Saturday's showdown at The Pete is free of charge and will be broadcast on ESPN+. Score updates will be posted on JSU Volleyball's Twitter account (@JSUGamecockVB), and live stats and post-game coverage will be provided at JSUGamecockSports.com.
 
To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, be sure to follow their Facebook (Jacksonville State Volleyball), Twitter, and Instagram (@JSUGamecockVB) accounts.