MIAMI – Jacksonville State volleyball hits the road again this weekend for its next-to-last away series of the 2023 regular season. The Gamecocks travel to south Florida for a pair of Conference USA contests at FIU, starting at 5 p.m. CT Friday and noon Saturday.
Jacksonville State (5-15, 3-7) had a productive weekend last time out, splitting their home series with New Mexico State (14-9, 7-5) at Pete Mathews Coliseum. They opened the two-game set with a five-set triumph on Friday night.
Clarke Adams and
Morgan McClure had 12 kills each and a combined 45 service and attack errors by the Aggies handed the Gamecocks a narrow victory. Jax State could not pull out a similar outcome on Saturday afternoon, however, falling in straight sets to NMSU.
Two Jax State starters still rank at the top of the Conference USA statistically heading into the sixth weekend of league action. Junior setter
Ellie Garrett is fifth in assists per set (8.49) and sixth in total assists (518) and libero
Brooklyn Schiffli has posted 2.91 digs per set, a mark that sits tenth in CUSA.
Maddie Stayer (140) and
Kaylee Moseley (135) are the team's kills leaders, McClure (49.0) and Aiana (42.0) pace the squad in blocks, and Schiffli has a team-best 15 aces.
Florida International (10-14, 6-4) was picked sixth in the conference's preseason poll but has rebounded nicely after going just 4-8 in non-conference play. The Panthers won five consecutive league bouts against Louisiana Tech, Sam Houston, and Middle Tennessee to begin their CUSA slate, then dropped four in a row to the likes of MTSU, UTEP, and Liberty. They were able to halt that skid last Saturday in Lynchburg, Va., knocking off Liberty, 3-0, a day after losing in four sets at Liberty Arena. Cristina Robertson, FIU's second-year head coach, has already guided the team to two more wins than they recorded in 2022.
Preseason All-Conference USA selection Syra Tanchin has had a strong graduate campaign, posting 177 kills and 23 blocks, but 6-foot-4 outside hitter Jade Sadeiko has stolen the show with her 245 kills to go along with a .238 clip. North Florida transfer Savannah Cook is FIU's top threat at setter and was named the CUSA Setter of the Week for her efforts at Liberty and freshman setter Gianna Tagoa'i has also shown great promise after earning back-to-back Freshman of the Week awards early in the season.
The Gamecocks won in their only previous meeting with the Panthers in 1998. They swept Florida International in Miami, securing an early-season road victory en route to a 16-win year.
Links to watch Saturday's showdown or follow along with live stats for either contest will be provided at JaxStateSports.com. In addition, score updates will be posted on Jax State Volleyball's X account (@JaxStateVB).
To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, follow their Facebook (Jacksonville State Volleyball), Instagram (@JaxStateVB), and X (@JaxStateVB) accounts.
