JACKSONVILLE – Jax State volleyball got back in the win column with a 3-1 home victory over Middle Tennessee Friday night.
 
In the match, Jax State (7-8, 1-2) accumulated an eye-popping 19 service aces, the most in a single match for the program in the modern era. Sanni Rantanen led the Gamecocks with five aces, Kayla Williams had four, Charlee Solomon had three, Morgan Blazzard had three, Luci Wilkinson had three, and Madison Konopka added one.
 
Williams continued to be a force offensively leading the way in kills with 18 on a .263 hitting percentage. Amaya Tolentino reached double-digit kills with 11, Rantanen had eight, and Izzy Whittaker tallied five, respectively. Whittaker had a team-best .357 hitting percentage. Luci Wilkinson paced the Red-and-White with 18 digs, while Solomon had 11. As a team, the Gamecocks notched 47 kills, three blocks, 43 assists, and 56 digs.
 
The Gamecocks capped the match with a dominant 25-8 fourth set win over the Blue Raiders (8-6, 1-2). In the fourth, Jax State opened with a 6-1 run and kept their foot on the gas from there. The Gamecocks went on a 7-0 run midway through the fourth, sparked by a service error by MTSU and five aces from Rantanen to extend their lead to 18-5. Keyauna Linwood got a kill to make it 19-6 and begin a quick 4-0 Jax State run late in the set.
 
Middle Tennessee opened the match with a 25-19 first set win over the Gamecocks. The Blue Raiders went on an early 6-0 run to go up 8-3 before Jax State got back in it with a 5-0 run that was started with a Williams kill. The Gamecocks and Blue Raiders were tied 15-all midway through the first. Middle Tennessee closed out the opening set on an 8-2 run to win.
 
In the second, Middle Tennessee came out hot to take an early 4-1 advantage. A kill by Tolentino helped the Gamecocks go on a 5-0 run to jump in front 8-5. Later in the set, Williams scored three-straight to extend Jax State's lead to 15-9. Jax State eventually led 22-12, but a 3-0 run by MTSU made it 22-15. Williams clinched the second set 25-15 with a kill.
 
The third set started tightly contested with each team sharing blows before a 5-0 run by MTSU put them ahead 14-11. Back-to-back Tolentino kills made it 14-13 MTSU, then Jax State eight straight points to gain a comfortable 21-15 advantage late. A kill by Rantanen and a bad set by MTSU helped Jax State take the third 25-17.
 
The Gamecocks and Blue Raiders conclude the two-game set on Saturday at 2 p.m. inside Pete Mathews Coliseum. Following the match, a social will be hosted by head coach Derek Schroeder in the lobby for all alumni in attendance in honor of Alumni Weekend.
 
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