Friday, September 30
Charlotte, NC
3 P.M.
Jacksonville State University
at
Queens
Gamecocks Set for ASUN Road Matches
9/29/2022 3:51:00 PM | Volleyball
JACKSONVILLE – Gamecock volleyball (14-1, 2-0) is prepped and ready to go on its first ASUN Conference road trip of the 2022-23 season this weekend. Jacksonville State will travel to Charlotte, N.C., to play Queens (5-10, 0-2) on Friday night before taking on Liberty (9-5, 2-0) in Lynchburg, Va., on Saturday evening.
JSU will take on Queens, the ASUN's newest member, at 5 p.m. CT Friday evening at the Levine Center. Then, at 5 p.m. CT Saturday, the Liberty Flames will play host to the red-hot Gamecocks for a league bout at Liberty Arena.
"We know that we're going to get tested, and we're looking forward to the challenge," Jacksonville State head coach Todd Garvey said. "We have a big weekend ahead of us, and hopefully we can go get two wins and remain in a tie for first place."
Jacksonville State will look to continue their phenomenal start to conference play after dominating their matches at the Pete last weekend. Garvey's squad downed a much-improved Central Arkansas team in four sets on Friday and swept a 10-win North Alabama in Saturday afternoon's showdown.
"I thought on Friday night we played really well in spurts, but then we didn't keep our foot down when we got leads, so that's something we talked about after the match," Garvey said. "Then, I thought Saturday we came in and played one of the most complete games we have all year. North Alabama was first in the country in opponent hitting percentage and we went out and hit really, really well against them and played awesome defense as well."
Fifth-year outside hitter Lena Kindermann led JSU with 24 kills (3.43 per set) in those wins over the Sugar Bears and Lions, finishing with a hit percentage of .415 and four blocks. She was far from the only standout Gamecock, however. Fifth-year Katie Montgomery and redshirt sophomore Courtney Glotzbach had 20 and 18 kills each, hitting .516 and .260 respectively. Additionally, graduate transfer Sophie Riemersma had 19 kills while hitting .594 last weekend.
Graduate transfer Claire Ochs guided the offense well, finishing with 74 assists (10.57 per set), a team-high four aces, and 16 digs against UCA and UNA. JSU's top defenders were senior Zoe Gonzales, who led the way with nine blocks, and senior Erin Carmichael and sophomore Brooklyn Schiffli, who had 21 and 13 digs each in the opening weekend of ASUN play.
Numerous Gamecocks still rank among the conference and nation's best in certain categories. Montgomery leads the ASUN and is ninth nationally with a hit percentage of .427. Senior Kylee Quigley still leads the conference in aces (29) and aces per set (0.59), ranking 11th and 12th in the country respectively. Ochs is second in the league in assists (558) and assists per set (10.73), marks that sit 11th and 14th in all of Division I. Additionally, Kindermann is third in kills (196), fourth in kills per set (3.63), fourth in hit percentage (.348), fourth in points (212.5), and sixth in points per set (3.94). The left-hander is 48th in the country currently in total kills. Finally, Gonzales is up to third in the ASUN now in blocks per set (1.03) after a strong weekend against Central Arkansas and North Alabama.
As expected, many of JSU's team stats are towards the top of the Division I ranks as well. Their collective hitting percentage of .308 leads the ASUN Conference and is fifth nationally. Garvey's squad has the most kills per set (13.76), total kills (743), and assists (680) of anybody in the league, ranking 26th, 29th, and 32nd in all of Division I. Jacksonville State's 12.59 assists per set is second in the ASUN and tied for 32nd overall, and the smothering Gamecock defensive is holding their opponents to a hitting percentage of .159, which is currently 19th in the country.
Queens (N.C.) has faced a rocky road early in their first season as a member of Division I. The Royals were a perennial power in the South Atlantic Conference, one of the premiere athletic conferences in NCAA Division II volleyball, but have won just four matches against Division I opponents in 14 attempts so far in 2022. Seventh-year head coach Hannah Long has a talented but young group comprised of almost exclusively underclassmen. Sophomore libero Jesse George is Queens' primary defender and is ninth in the ASUN in digs per set (3.81). Their main attacker is sophomore outside hitter Alleigh Johnson, who is seventh in the league in total kills (171) and eighth in kills per set (3.23).
Liberty appears to be much improved from last season. The Flames, which are coached by fifth-year head coach Trevor Johnson, had a disappointing 2021 after going 5-9 in the Spring and 10-14 in the Fall. Liberty has already nearly matched last year's win total, as they have totaled nine victories through 14 matches. The well-rounded squad has several players inside the ASUN's top ten in key statistics. Junior middle blocker Lydia Burts leads the conference in blocks (62) and blocks per set (1.29), is second in hitting percentage (.356), and is tenth in points per set (3.56). Junior setter Delaney Dilfer is tops in the ASUN in assists (572) and assists per set (11.00), and junior Trinity Watts is third in points per set (4.33) and fifth in kills per set (3.58).
"I think, just consistency (is one thing I'd want to see improved)," Garvey said. "Like I said, I thought Saturday, it was awesome, but we're hoping to put a complete weekend together where we can play good without letting the other team come back if we do get leads."
Those unable to make the trips up the east coast can watch both of this weekend's matches on ESPN+. Score updates will be posted on JSU Volleyball's Twitter account (@JSUGamecockVB). 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.
JSU will take on Queens, the ASUN's newest member, at 5 p.m. CT Friday evening at the Levine Center. Then, at 5 p.m. CT Saturday, the Liberty Flames will play host to the red-hot Gamecocks for a league bout at Liberty Arena.
"We know that we're going to get tested, and we're looking forward to the challenge," Jacksonville State head coach Todd Garvey said. "We have a big weekend ahead of us, and hopefully we can go get two wins and remain in a tie for first place."
Jacksonville State will look to continue their phenomenal start to conference play after dominating their matches at the Pete last weekend. Garvey's squad downed a much-improved Central Arkansas team in four sets on Friday and swept a 10-win North Alabama in Saturday afternoon's showdown.
"I thought on Friday night we played really well in spurts, but then we didn't keep our foot down when we got leads, so that's something we talked about after the match," Garvey said. "Then, I thought Saturday we came in and played one of the most complete games we have all year. North Alabama was first in the country in opponent hitting percentage and we went out and hit really, really well against them and played awesome defense as well."
Fifth-year outside hitter Lena Kindermann led JSU with 24 kills (3.43 per set) in those wins over the Sugar Bears and Lions, finishing with a hit percentage of .415 and four blocks. She was far from the only standout Gamecock, however. Fifth-year Katie Montgomery and redshirt sophomore Courtney Glotzbach had 20 and 18 kills each, hitting .516 and .260 respectively. Additionally, graduate transfer Sophie Riemersma had 19 kills while hitting .594 last weekend.
Graduate transfer Claire Ochs guided the offense well, finishing with 74 assists (10.57 per set), a team-high four aces, and 16 digs against UCA and UNA. JSU's top defenders were senior Zoe Gonzales, who led the way with nine blocks, and senior Erin Carmichael and sophomore Brooklyn Schiffli, who had 21 and 13 digs each in the opening weekend of ASUN play.
Numerous Gamecocks still rank among the conference and nation's best in certain categories. Montgomery leads the ASUN and is ninth nationally with a hit percentage of .427. Senior Kylee Quigley still leads the conference in aces (29) and aces per set (0.59), ranking 11th and 12th in the country respectively. Ochs is second in the league in assists (558) and assists per set (10.73), marks that sit 11th and 14th in all of Division I. Additionally, Kindermann is third in kills (196), fourth in kills per set (3.63), fourth in hit percentage (.348), fourth in points (212.5), and sixth in points per set (3.94). The left-hander is 48th in the country currently in total kills. Finally, Gonzales is up to third in the ASUN now in blocks per set (1.03) after a strong weekend against Central Arkansas and North Alabama.
As expected, many of JSU's team stats are towards the top of the Division I ranks as well. Their collective hitting percentage of .308 leads the ASUN Conference and is fifth nationally. Garvey's squad has the most kills per set (13.76), total kills (743), and assists (680) of anybody in the league, ranking 26th, 29th, and 32nd in all of Division I. Jacksonville State's 12.59 assists per set is second in the ASUN and tied for 32nd overall, and the smothering Gamecock defensive is holding their opponents to a hitting percentage of .159, which is currently 19th in the country.
Queens (N.C.) has faced a rocky road early in their first season as a member of Division I. The Royals were a perennial power in the South Atlantic Conference, one of the premiere athletic conferences in NCAA Division II volleyball, but have won just four matches against Division I opponents in 14 attempts so far in 2022. Seventh-year head coach Hannah Long has a talented but young group comprised of almost exclusively underclassmen. Sophomore libero Jesse George is Queens' primary defender and is ninth in the ASUN in digs per set (3.81). Their main attacker is sophomore outside hitter Alleigh Johnson, who is seventh in the league in total kills (171) and eighth in kills per set (3.23).
Liberty appears to be much improved from last season. The Flames, which are coached by fifth-year head coach Trevor Johnson, had a disappointing 2021 after going 5-9 in the Spring and 10-14 in the Fall. Liberty has already nearly matched last year's win total, as they have totaled nine victories through 14 matches. The well-rounded squad has several players inside the ASUN's top ten in key statistics. Junior middle blocker Lydia Burts leads the conference in blocks (62) and blocks per set (1.29), is second in hitting percentage (.356), and is tenth in points per set (3.56). Junior setter Delaney Dilfer is tops in the ASUN in assists (572) and assists per set (11.00), and junior Trinity Watts is third in points per set (4.33) and fifth in kills per set (3.58).
"I think, just consistency (is one thing I'd want to see improved)," Garvey said. "Like I said, I thought Saturday, it was awesome, but we're hoping to put a complete weekend together where we can play good without letting the other team come back if we do get leads."
Those unable to make the trips up the east coast can watch both of this weekend's matches on ESPN+. Score updates will be posted on JSU Volleyball's Twitter account (@JSUGamecockVB). 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.
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