Jax State Drops Four-Set Battle to Samford

Sunday, September 13

Birmingham, AL

4 PM

Jax State

1-8,0-0CUSA

Samford

2-5,0-0SoCon

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Jacksonville St.	23	25	17	15	1
Samford	25	23	25	25	3

9/13/2026 6:54:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, ALA. – Jax State volleyball ended the 2026 Samford Invitational with a 3-1 loss to the hosting Samford Bulldogs.

In the opening set, a 5-0 scoring run gave the Gamecocks an early 6-3 advantage. Later in the set, Lauren Buchanan capped a 7-0 run with a kill that extended Jax State's lead to 21-12. Samford responded with a 5-0 run of their own to cut it to 21-17 Gamecocks. The Gamecocks got up 23-18 before a 7-0 run from Samford granted them the set win.

Jax State turned the tables on the Bulldogs in the second set. The Bulldogs went up 13-4 and looked like they were on their way to going up 2-0 in the match. The Gamecocks found a spark trailing 16-7 thanks to a Sophia Schweikert kill. Schweikert and the Gamecocks went on an impressive 11-0 run capped by a kill from Azavia Thomas to take an 18-16 advantage late in the second. Samford regained control, going up 19-18 before a late 5-1 run from Jax State gave the Gamecocks a 25-23 win and tied the match at one-set apiece.

Samford put away the Gamecocks 25-17 in the third set. With Samford at set point, an attack error from the Bulldogs and a kill by Taya Nordmann made it 24-17. An attack error from the Gamecocks gave the Bulldogs the set victory. Samford clinched the match in the fourth set with a 25-15 win. Jax State was trailing by just four points before a 6-0 run from the Bulldogs ended the match.

Schweikert led the Gamecocks with 11 kills. Nordmann followed Schweikert close with 10 kills, while freshman Claire Evans added eight. Nordmann also had the lone service ace for the Red-and-White and tallied four blocks. Thomas had a team-high five blocks in the match. Sofia Varela had a team-best 20 assists, Addison Stone had 16, and Delaney Moon had five. Moon had a team-best 15 digs. Meanwhile, Varela and Schweikert both had career-highs in digs as they each had 10.

Varela's previous career-high was six digs against Western Carolina on Sep. 6. Schweikert prior career-best came last season at Florida International where she had four digs on Oct. 31, 2025.

The Gamecocks had 56 digs, 48 kills, 44 assists, seven blocks, and a service ace as a team against the Bulldogs. Samford had 45 kills, 11 aces, 17 blocks, 40 assists, and 58 digs. The Bulldogs were led by Brianna Hamilton and Magiie Kalisz who both had 11 kills, Hazel Slusher with 11 blocks, Alison Ohlinger with 33 assists, and Hamilton and Ally Cordes tied for a team-best 14 digs.

The Gamecocks return to action Thursday, Sep. 17, and Friday Sep. 18, when they travel to Alabama for the Crimson Tide Invitational. On Sep. 17, Jax State plays the hosting Crimson Tide at 5 p.m. On Sep. 18, Jax States takes on Southern for the second time this season at 12 p.m., then they wrap up the tournament against Nicholls at 7 p.m.

To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, follow their Facebook (Jacksonville State Volleyball), Twitter (JaxStateVB), and Instagram (JaxStateVB) accounts.