BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Jacksonville State volleyball team made quick work of its first match of the 2022 season, sweeping Chicago State in straights sets (25-15, 26-24, 25-17) on Friday afternoon inside Wilkinson Hall on the campus of Indiana University.
 
The win was the third all-time for JSU (1-0) over the Cougars (0-1), and the 80th for head coach Todd Garvey in the first match of his fifth season at the helm. The Gamecocks CSU to a .057 hitting percentage as a team while forcing 20 attack errors.
 
"I thought tonight was a total team effort," said Garvey following the victory. "Chicago State is a really good team. I thought our defense was excellent. For us to hold them to .057 as a team and hold their best player to .093 was great to see."
 
"I also thought we did a great job staying balanced offensively and spreading the ball around and getting everyone involved."
 
In her Gamecock debut, Claire Ochs dished 35 assists to facilitate an offense that hit .265 combined and saw six different hitters, including Ochs, record five-or-more kills. Senior Lena Kindermann continued right where her stellar career has been for years, leading JSU with 13 kills and a pair of blocks. Sophomore Courtney Glotzbach notched 10 kills in her first game back from injury for her first double-digit match since March 28 of last spring against Morehead State as part of the delayed 2020 season. Katie Montgomery finished one kill shy of being the third Gamecock in double digits.
 
Along with pacing JSU's offense Ochs led the way in digs with 13 as part of a stingy Gamecock defense that never allowed CSU to find a rhythm. Indiana native Brooklyn Schiffli upped nine attacks from the back row to match Glotzbach's mark, while Erin Carmichael added eight digs for the opener.
 
Following a 7-7 tie in the first set, JSU used an 11-2 run to pull away in the opening frame. A solo block from Gonzales ended the first at a 10-point margin. In the second, CSU looked to be in position to tie the match with a late 24-21 lead, but the Gamecocks fought off three-straight set points as part of a 5-0 run to storm back for a 26-24 victory.
 
CSU trailed by only a point in the third at 15-14 when back-to-back kills from Montgomery sparked a 7-0 run that would close the door on a Cougar comeback.
 
Jax State turns around on Saturday to face Indiana State and host Indiana. The meeting with the Sycamores will be the first in program history, while JSU dropped a close 3-2 match to the Hoosiers in 2007 in the only previous meeting.