JACKSONVILLE – Gamecock volleyball will carry a 9-0 record to Montgomery tonight for their road test at Alabama State.
Coach
Todd Garvey's squad will try to continue their hot start to the 2022 season tonight. After sweeping road invitationals at Indiana and Clemson, the Gamecocks took care of business at the Pete Mathews Coliseum in last weekend's Gamecock Classic. Now 9-0 on the year, the experienced team will look to extend their best start to non-conference play in program history with another victory this evening.
Alabama State enters tonight's match 1-10 on the year. The Hornets started 0-8 before claiming a 3-0 triumph over South Carolina State in last week's ISTAP HBCU Challenge. ASU, led by veteran head coach Penny Lucas-White, dropped matchups versus Coppin State and Delaware State to finish that weekend classic in Montgomery.
"Alabama State has played a really tough schedule so far, including Arkansas, Auburn, Arizona, FGCU, and Colorado State, just to name a few," Garvey said. "We know they are going to be battle-tested and put up a fight. We will need to do a good job in defending their outside hitters and middle blocker (Kalysia) Bates to slow them down."
Several Gamecocks have turned in strong performances to start the season.
Claire Ochs, who was named the ASUN Setter of the Week on Monday, is third in the league with an average of 10.66 assists per set. Fifth-year
Lena Kindermann is third in kills (124), fifth in points (4.19 per set), and ninth in hit percentage (.336), and classmate
Katie Montgomery ranks third in hitting (.406) in the ASUN. Senior
Kylee Quigley leads the conference with 18 service aces and
Zoe Gonzales, who missed the Gamecock Classic due to injury, is third in the league with 1.14 blocks per set. Additionally, senior libero
Erin Carmichael is ninth in the ASUN with 3.84 digs per set through nine matches.
Jacksonville State is 15-0 all-time against Alabama State in volleyball. The Gamecocks last played the Hornets in last August's Gamecock Classic, when JSU swept ASU at the Pete Mathews Coliseum.
Jacksonville State's Tuesday night clash with the Hornets will start at 6 p.m. at Lockhart Gymnasium. Links for live stats and video can be found at JSUGamecockSports.com. The Gamecocks return home Friday and Saturday for the JSU Invitational, in which they will play host to Auburn, Jackson State, and Southern Miss.
