AUBURN, Ala. – The Derek Schroeder era for Jacksonville State volleyball kicked off with a five-set thriller on Friday afternoon. The Gamecocks came from behind to force a fifth set and downed McNeese, 3-2, in the opening match of the War Eagle Invitational.
 
"I think everybody's just really happy to get a win," Schroeder said. "This is an inexperienced team, so finding that first W can always be tricky. We got that monkey off our back and we'll move forward to the next challenge."
 
Jax State (1-0) came out firing on all cylinders on Friday afternoon. Back-to-back aces by sophomore Luci Wilkinson helped to an early lead, and smooth play offensively carried them to a 25-21 set victory. The second set started similarly. Jax State raced out to a 16-10 advantage before McNeese (0-2) rallied. Despite their comeback, the Red-and-White still led 24-21 and had a set point. Unfortunately, a 5-0 run by the Cowgirls handed them a slim triumph.
 
"We were really dialed-in to our system early on," Schroeder said. "They didn't like the way it went at Troy and realized that they were playing a mix of their old system and my system. In the first, we were dialed-in to wanting to pass, set, and attack the correct way. 
 
"We played really clean in set one, and to McNeese's credit they came back and did a really good job afterwards to make it hard on us," Schroeder said.
 
Jacksonville State could not catch a break in the third set. Eight attack errors and a handful of service errors gave McNeese a 25-22 win. The fourth was night-and-day different, however, as four aces and 15 kills guided the Gamecocks to a 25-16 difference. The Red-and-White dominated the decisive fifth set, leading virtually the entire frame and closing it out with a 15-8 triumph. 
 
Kaylee Moseley shined in her Jax State debut, finishing with a match-high 20 kills, two block assists, and a hitting percentage of .563. Clarke Adams added 19 kills and 14 digs while Maddie Stayer had 16 kills, seven digs, and three block assists. Ellie Garrett exploded for 54 assists in her first match as a Gamecock and Gracie Danziger, who got the start at libero, ended up with a match-high 19 digs. 
 
Schroeder's squad out-hit the Cowgirls .273 to .168, posting nine aces to 11 errors. Each side had ten blocks.
 
"Sometimes immature teams get in their feelings a little," Schroeder said. "McNeese was very fired up, and when we got down our immaturity showed a little bit, even as a staff. In the fourth set, our kids on the court showed great leadership and did a good job of adjusting how we served. They used that momentum to turn us into the aggressor.
 
"I think everybody did a really good job," Schroeder said. "The numbers will say that our pins did great- and they did- but the ball control kids were fantastic. Brooklyn Schiffli was just subbing for the middle initially but ended up subbing three rotations for the back row. I think she passed 18-of-20 balls perfectly, and that whole unit did an amazing job." 
 
Jacksonville State returns to play with two matches in the War Eagle Invitational tomorrow. They will meet MEAC powerhouse Coppin State at 1 p.m. at Auburn's Neville Arena before finishing the tournament with a showdown versus the host Tigers at 7 p.m. 
 
Saturday night's contest against Auburn will be broadcasted on SEC Network+ with Graham Doty and Kele Eveland on the call. Links to watch or follow along with stats will be provided at JaxStateSports.com. In addition, score updates will be posted on Jax State Volleyball's Twitter account (@JaxStateVB). 
 
"You're going to see a couple other kids play tomorrow as well," Schroeder said. "Everybody has done such a good job in preseason that they all deserve a little bit of playing time this weekend. I'm hoping that we just see our system again. We didn't get up and bomb any balls; we just scored with system, whether it was speed or misdirection, so hopefully we put a couple new kids in and continue to find that." 
 
To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, follow their Twitter (@JaxStateVB), Instagram (@JaxStateVB), and Facebook (Jacksonville State Volleyball) accounts.