JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State beach volleyball team opened the ASUN Conference Championships with a pair of losses on the first day of pool play.
JSU (3-21) began the day with a 4-1 loss to North Alabama (14-12) before falling to No. 20 Florida Gulf Coast (25-8), 5-0.
In match one, JSU battled and forced two tie-break sets.
Emily-Kate Lonergan and
Bethany Randall fought to the end in the first set but fell just short 23-21. The Lions took the second set in the fifth flight, 21-16, to win 2-0, and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
North Alabama scraped by the Gamecock's pairing of
Peyton Pauze and
Taylor Thomas, 22-20 in the first set of the second flight and secured its second point of the match with a 21-11 win in the second set.
In the fourth flight,
Paulina Lindberg and
Brooklyn Schiffli dropped the first set, 21-17, but responded with a 21-17 win in the second, forcing a tie-breaking third set. UNA narrowly defeated the pair, 16-14, to clinch the match with a third point, 2-1.
After UNA clinched,
Kylee Quigley and
Claire Ochs completed a 2-0 sweep in the first flight. The duo jumped ahead after a 21-17 win in the first set and secured their seventh win of the season, 23-21, following an ace, in the second set.
Lena Kindermann and
Erin Carmichael opened the third flight with a 21-19 win in the first set. The Lions responded with a back-and-forth 27-25 win in the second set, forcing a tie-breaking third. JSU dropped the third set, 15-8, completing the 4-1 win for UNA overall.
Following the first pool play match of the day JSU squared off with one of the top teams in the ASUN, No. 20 ranked Florida Gulf Coast. The Eagles feature three ASUN All-Conference pairings, the Pair of the Year and the Coach of the Year.
To begin the match, Lonergan and Randall battled with All-Conference pairing Emma Hansen and Kaitlyn Luebbers. The JSU duo opened the first set up 3-1 and battled to the end, falling just short 21-17. JSU fell 2-0 in the flight, after dropping the third set 21-17.
FGCU took a 2-0 lead after defeating Schiffli and Lindberg 2-0, by scores of 21-9 and 21-14, in the fourth flight.
The Eagles clinched the match with a third point after winning the third flight over Kindermann and Carmichael, 2-0, by scores of 21-9 and 21-14.
FGCU closed out the match with 2-0 wins in the first and second flights by defeating Ochs and Quigley, 21-12, 21-14, and Pauze and Thomas 21-16, 21-9.
Through two matches of pool play, JSU sits at 0-2. FGCU currently leads Pool B at 2-0. UNF and Jacksonville are each 0-1 and UNA and Central Arkansas both sit at 1-0. The top two will advance to Monday's semifinal after pool play concludes on Sunday.
JSU will return to the John Hunt Sports Complex on Saturday, April 23, with a match against Central Arkansas at 8:30 a.m. and defending-champion North Florida at 4 p.m.
Stay up to date with JSU beach volleyball at JSUGameocksports.com and on social media @JSUGamecockVB.
