JACKSONVILLE – Gamecock volleyball finished their final home stand of the season against New Mexico State with a 3-1 win Friday afternoon. Jax State finished 7-1 inside Pete Mathews Coliseum this season.
The Gamecocks (13-13, 7-7) downed the Aggies (14-13, 7-7) 25-23 in the first set and 25-21 in the second. The Aggies took the third set 25-23, but Jax State responded with a 25-19 fourth set victory to claim the match.
Three Gamecocks notched double-digit kills in the match.
Kayla Williams led with 19,
Sophia Schweikert had 11 kills, and
Sanni Rantanen added 10. Meanwhile,
D'Yanna Spicer had a team-best .417 hitting percentage.
Charlee Solomon set the ball well as she led the Gamecocks with 45 assists.
Defensively,
Luci Wilkinson led the Red-and-White with 16 digs.
Madison Konopka also tallied double-figure digs with 11. Williams added eight digs and Rantanen had seven. Wilkinson shined at the service line as well with a team-best three aces. In the match, Jax State had 56 kills, 59 digs, 49 assists, eight aces, and three blocks.
In the opening set, Jax State got out to an 8-4 advantage before NMSU rallied to tie it. The Aggies then took a 15-12 lead midway through the set thanks to a 4-0 run. Wilkinson capped a quick 3-0 run with an ace to put the Gamecocks back in front 17-15. Williams put the Gamecocks in front 23-22 late, before Solomon helped Jax State reach set point with an ace.
Jax State came out hot in the second set, going ahead 14-5. The Gamecocks got up 19-8 before the Aggies made it 19-10. NMSU went on a 4-0 run to make it 20-14. Later in the second, the Aggies got it within three 23-20. A kill by Williams ended the set at 25-21 Jax State.
The third set saw Jax State jump in front 16-9 just over the midway point. NMSU went on a 9-3 run to tie it at 20-20 later. Schweikert put Jax State in front 22-20 late with a kill before the Aggies tied it again. NMSU closed the third out scoring three-straight points.
Early in the fourth, the teams went back-and-forth before a kill by Spicer put the Gamecocks ahead 13-10. Jax State then went on a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 19-11. The Aggies made a late push with a 3-0 run to make it 24-19 before Williams put down a kill to clinch the match.
Jax State moves on to their regular season finale with a pair of matches at Louisiana Tech on Wednesday, Nov. 12, and Thursday, Nov. 13.
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