BELMONT INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State volleyball team will open its 2010 season on Friday, when the Gamecocks face Memphis at 6:30 p.m. in the first round of the Belmont Invitational in Nashville, Tenn.

The Gamecocks, who are coming off of the most storied season in school history a year ago, will look to get their 2010 campaign off on the right foot against the Tigers from Conference USA before facing Miami (Ohio) and host Belmont on Saturday.

In his ninth season at the helm of the Gamecocks, head coach Rick Nold returns seven letterwinners and all but one starter off of last year's team that went 27-8 and picked up the program's first NCAA Tournament win. JSU rolled through the Ohio Valley Conference schedule with a 17-1 mark before claiming the OVC Tournament and a spot in the Tallahassee, Fla., Regional, where they upended Florida A&M in the first round.

Three seniors lead the way for Nold's returning class. Outside hitter Caitlin Vorbeck, a First Team All-OVC performer in 2009 and a preseason pick to do the same in 2010, anchors an offense that also features 2009 OVC All-Newcomer honorees Jen Meyer and Alyx Schulte. Vorbeck, a native of Raytown, Mo., enters the year with 979 career kills, just 21 shy of becoming the 15th member of the school's 1,000 kills club.

Senior setter Brooke Schumacher will set up the Gamecock offense for the fourth season in 2010. Already the school's Division I record holder for assists in a season, the Lake In The Hills, Ill., native is fifth on JSU's career assists list and trails just Emily Withers on the school's Division I chart.

Middle blocker Kara Slater rounds out the senior class and will anchor the front row for the Gamecocks. A native of Colorado Springs, Colo., she led the Gamecocks with 79 blocks a year ago, while finishing second with a .253 attack percentage. Meyer, a 2010 Preseason All-OVC pick, led JSU with a .294 attack percentage that ranked second in the OVC.

Junior libero Lauren Harkins returns to lead the defense after picking up a school-record 662 digs in 2009, 136 more than the previous mark. The Louisville, Ky., native has become the fastest player in JSU history to 1,000 digs and already sits in sixth on the school's career digs list after just two seasons.

Junior Stephanie Koontz and redshirt freshman Lauren Busing will provide depth up front, while a group of five newcomers will step in and contribute, as well. Freshmen Kelly Cole and Kaleigh Harvey will help the Gamecocks on the back row, while Abbey Heredia will help Schumacher set up the offense. A pair of transfers from Blinn College in Texas, Liza Senenkova and Hivya Leite, will see time up front for Nold and the Gamecocks.

Friday will mark the fourth meeting between JSU and Memphis on the volleyball court, with the Tigers claiming the previous three matches. The Gamecocks hold an 8-1 record in their all-time series with Belmont, while Saturday will mark the first meeting between JSU and Miami.

The Gamecocks will open their home schedule on Tuesday, when they host Kennesaw State at 7 p.m. at Pete Mathews Coliseum. Admission is free for all fans.