TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Jacksonville State 3, Kennesaw State 0 (25-14, 29-27, 25-10)
Western Kentucky 3, @Tennessee State 0 (25-10, 25-23, 25-17)
@Tennessee Tech 3, Belmont 1 (16-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-17)
JACKSONVILLE STATE 3, KENNESAW STATE 0
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State volleyball team was clicking on all cylinders in its home opener on Tuesday, when the Gamecocks cruised to a 3-0 (25-14, 29-27, 25-10) sweep of Kennesaw State at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
The Gamecocks (2-2) set the tone early and looked even stronger late in a match that saw them hit .341 as a team and limited the Owls (2-2) to an .067 attack percentage. JSU hit an impressive .391 in the opening set and closed the night with a .481 percentage in the lopsided third set. It finished the night with a balanced 43 kills, 41 assists and 40 digs.
Senior Caitlin Vorbeck used a .407 attack percentage to knock down a match-high 14 kills, three days after becoming the 15th member of the school's 1,000 kills club. The Raytown, Mo., native ran her career total to 1,018 while also recording five of the Gamecocks' seven service aces on the night.
Senior Brooke Schumacher paved the way for the dominant effort by the Gamecock offense with 41 assists, while picking up seven digs on the defensive side of the net. Junior Lauren Harkins led the Gamecocks with 12 digs, while sophomore Alyx Schulte added nine.
On the front row, junior Stephanie Koontz had nine kills on a .350 attackt percentage, while senior Kara Slater pitched in seven on just 11 swings. Sophomore Jen Meyer added six on a .462 percentage.
The Owls got eight kills and 11 digs from Alyssa Lang, while Sabrita Gulley recorded seven kills and 11 digs.
The Gamecocks will return to the road, where they will play their next nine matches. They begin the road swing in Blacksburg, Va., on Friday, when they open the Hokie Invitational against Long Island at 3 p.m. CT.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, BELMONT 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - It took the Tennessee Tech volleyball team the entire first set to find its rhythm, but the Golden Eagles finally got the beat and swept the next three sets for a 3-1 non-conference victory Tuesday night over Belmont University in Eblen Center.
It was Tech's first home match of the season -- the only home contest for the Golden Eagles for nearly a month -- and gave coach John Blair's team (1-3) its first win of the season.
Maggie Johnson helped the Bruins (2-2) roll to a 25-16 win in the first set, as the visitors appeared to have set the tone for the evening. But the Golden Eagles took control early in the second set and hung on for a narrow 25-22 victory to tie things at the break.
The third set was the closest of the night before the Golden Eagles prevailed, 25-23. With a 2-1 lead, Tech seemed to play with more confidence and built a commanding lead in the fourth set before wrapping things up with a 25-17 decision.
Culp, the senior setter and team captain, had 36 assists and 16 digs, her second double-double of the season.
Senior Leah Meffert also posted her second double-double of the year, leading Tech with 16 kills and adding 11 digs. Senior Marie Peddicord was the most effective hitter on the front line Tuesday, posting a .375 hitting percentage with nine kills and no errors. She also topped Tech with three total blocks.
Freshman libero Allison May led the defensive numbers with 21 digs.
Johnson posted a double-double to lead Belmont, collecting 23 kills and 12 digs. She was the primary attacker for the Bruins, getting 68 swings. Kayla Albritton had eight kills along with 10 digs while Tara Blood had seven kills and a stout .316 hitting percentage. Defensively, five Bruins hit double digits in digs, led by libero Megan Clements with 2
Tech's next action is in Birmingham, Ala., this weekend when the Golden Eagles play four matches in the Samford Invitational.
WESTERN KENTUCKY 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee State University volleyball team dropped its season opener to Western Kentucky, 3-0, Tuesday night in Kean Hall.
TSU, which is still without its primary setter, fell to 0-1 while WKU improved to 2-2 on the season.
After a slow start in set one, TSU picked up the intensity in the second set and continued to fight through the third. The Tigers, however, seemed to lose steam towards the end as Western Kentucky was able to pull off the sweep.
Terakka Walker, who has recently filled the role of setter for TSU, recorded 23 assists in the match. Senior Santia Sanders led the Tigers with nine kills while Calasia Williams turned in a team best 11 digs. Jordyn Skinner led the Hilltoppers with 10 kills and Sarah Rodgers tallied 10 digs.
In set one, TSU scored the first point behind an attack error by WKU. The Hilltoppers, however, used a run to open up a 17-5 lead before cruising to the 25-10 win.
The Tigers battled in the second set. After trailing, 10-6, TSU chipped away at the WKU advantage before eventually knotting the score, 18-18. The teams went point-for-point over the next few rallies but the Hilltoppers outscored the Tigers 5-2 down the stretch to escape with the win.
With WKU holding on to a slight 6-4 lead, in the third set, the Hilltoppers went on a run and stretched the advantage to 11-5. Later in the set, the Tigers closed to within four points but were unable to get over the hump.
As a team, Tennessee State hit .122 in the match and committed 18 errors while Western Kentucky registered a .363 hitting percentage and had seven miscues.
The Tigers return to action this weekend when they participate in the Active Ankle Challenge tournament hosted by Ball State. TSU will face Ball State on Friday before matching-up with Oakland University and Robert Morris on Saturday.