JACKSONVILLE- Career-best performances from Sophie Riemersma and Claire Ochs led Jacksonville State to a 3-1 win over Southern Miss in Friday's JSU Invitational at the Pete Mathews Coliseum. That victory over the Golden Eagles improves JSU's record to 12-0 on the season and sets up a potential undefeated matchup on Saturday night.
 
Riemersma, a graduate transfer from Miami of Ohio, set a new JSU career-high with 15 kills and a .452 hit percentage, and Ochs, a graduate transfer from Southeast Missouri State, made a new JSU-best mark with 49 assists in the triumph over Southern Miss.
 
"I was proud of our effort tonight against a really good Southern Miss team," head coach Todd Garvey said after the victory. "They were a lot to handle offensively but our defense hung in there and played great down the stretch when we needed to.
 
"Offensively, we were great all night, especially Sophie," Garvey said. "I think she had the best match of her JSU career. Lena (Kindermann) got it going down the stretch and took over offensively, and Erin Carmichael did a great job serving at the end of the fourth set."
 
JSU had a very balanced offensive attack in the Day 1 nightcap. Kindermann led the way with 17 kills and a .424 hitting percentage, but several other Gamecocks had a night to remember. Senior Kylee Quigley added 15 kills, 12 digs, and three aces, fifth-year middle blocker Katie Montgomery had seven kills and three aces, and senior Erin Carmichael and sophomore Brooklyn Schiffli had 20 and 12 digs respectively.
 
The Gamecocks picked up their only decisive set victory of the night in the first set. Southern Miss started slow, allowing JSU to open on a 9-4 scoring run before the Gamecocks took the opening frame 25-17. 
 
The second set was much tighter. After starting 18-18, the Golden Eagles went on a 3-0 run late in the set that proved to be the difference in their 25-23 victory.
 
Set three began equally tight. Both sides traded late timeouts, but three kills from fifth-year standout Lena Kindermann down the stretch capped off a 6-1 run and helped JSU to a 25-19 win in that interval. 
 
Jacksonville State and Southern Miss each had impressive stretches throughout the fourth set before Kindermann took over again. The German outside hitter again had three kills in crunch time, leading the Gamecocks to a 5-0 scoring run to finish the 25-18 set and cap off a 3-1 triumph.
 
As a team, Jacksonville State (12-0) hit .348 against a strong Southern Miss (7-4) defense. The Gamecocks also only allowed the Golden Eagles to a .252 hit percentage in the Friday night finale.
 
With Friday's victories over Magnolia State foes Jackson State and Southern Miss, Jacksonville State moves their program-best start in non-conference play to 12-0. The Gamecocks will wrap up play in the JSU Invitational tomorrow night with a showdown versus in-state power Auburn (9-0).
 
JSU and Auburn are two of just eight Division I teams left unbeaten. If Auburn knocks off Jackson State in tomorrow's first match, it will ensure an unbeaten clash at the Pete Mathews Coliseum. 
 
Saturday's action in Jacksonville will start with Auburn-Jackson State at 10 a.m. The next match, which starts at 1:30 p.m., will pit Southern Miss against Jackson State. Then, the finale between the Gamecocks and Tigers will begin at 6 p.m. It will be broadcast on ESPN+ as well.
 
Fans are encouraged to come out and support the Gamecocks in Saturday night's massive matchup. Admission to the Pete Mathews Coliseum is free of charge. Score updates will be posted on the JSU Volleyball twitter account (@JSUGamecockVB), and live stats and post-game coverage will be provided at JSUGamecockSports.com.