JACKSONVILLE – Jax State volleyball fell 3-1 Saturday afternoon to the Missouri State Bears. The loss was the first match the Gamecocks have lost at home this season.
The Gamecocks took the first set 25-22. Missouri State took a close second set 25-21, won the third set 25-18, and clinched the match win with a 25-23 final in set four.
The Gamecocks were led by
Kayla Williams who notched 18 kills on a .261 hitting percentage.
Sanni Rantanen joined Williams in double-digits with 12 kills on a team-best .500 hitting percentage.
Amaya Tolentino added eight kills. Rantanen also added three total blocks and four digs.
Charlee Solomon led the Red-and-White with 44 assists. Solomon had the second most digs on the team with 11, a team-best four service aces, and a block assist.
Luci Wilkinson led Jax State with 16 digs, while
Morgan Blazzard had 10 digs, respectively. The Gamecocks had 53 kills, 51 assists, 60 digs, seven aces, and seven blocks.
The Gamecocks opened the first set with a quick 4-0 lead. Williams later sparked an 8-2 scoring run with a kill to put the Gamecocks ahead 13-8. The Gamecocks got up by as much as 21-13 late in the set before Missouri State cut Jax State's lead to 23-22. An attack error by the Bears and a Kill by Rantanen clinched the first set 25-22 for Jax State.
Jax State continued to start sets well in the second as they went up 7-3 early on thanks to a kill by Tolentino. The Gamecocks later scored four unanswered to go up 20-15. Following the Jax State run, Missouri State responded with a 9-1 run to take the second set 25-21.
In the third set,
D'Yanna Spicer and Rantanen got back-to-back kills to tie the set 8-8. The Bears went on a 7-1 run to go up 15-9 at the midway point of the set. A quick three-straight points by Jax State made it 15-12 Missouri State following the set's media timeout. Missouri State went up 21-15 late in the set.
Izzy Whittaker scored the Gamecocks final point with a kill to make it 23-18 before the Bears closed out the set.
Missouri State turned the tables on Jax State as they came out hot early in the fourth to go up 5-2. Whittaker earned a kill to tie it at 6-6 before the Bears went on a quick 4-0 run. Trailing 16-11, the Gamecocks went on an 8-0 run capped highlighted by an ace from Solomon. Jax State went up 21-17 thanks to a Tolentino kill, but Missouri State answered by scoring seven unanswered and taking a 24-21 lead late. Jax State got back-to-back points to get within one before Missouri State clinched the match 25-23.
Jax State moves on to face Kennesaw State next Friday, Oct. 17 at 6 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 18 at 1 p.m., on the road.
To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, follow their Facebook (Jacksonville State Volleyball), Twitter (JaxStateVB), and Instagram (JaxStateVB) accounts.
