FINAL STATS

NASHVILLE – Senior Kara Slater blocked nine attempts and led three Gamecocks with double digits in kills on Friday, when the Jacksonville State volleyball team opened the 2010 season with a 3-1 (25-19, 24-26, 25-18, 25-16) win over Memphis on the first day of the Belmont Invitational.

Slater, a 6-foot-1 middle blocker from Colorado Springs, Colo., recorded two solo and seven assisted blocks while putting down a team-high 16 kills on a .333 attack percentage. She led the Gamecocks (1-0) to their first win over the Tigers (0-1) in four tries and to a win in their season opener for the fifth time in six years.

Fellow senior Cailtin Vorbeck pitched in 11 kills, while sophomore Alyx Schulte added 10 on a .294 attack percentage to help an offense that was set up by senior Brooke Schumacher's 46 assists. Schulte, a native of Cold Spring, Ky., earned a double-double by leading all players with 18 digs, while Schumacher, of Lake In The Hills, Ill., had a double-double of her own with 12 digs.

Junior Lauren Harkins added 13 digs on the Gamecocks' back row to go along with three of JSU's seven service aces. Junior Stephanie Koontz and sophomore Jen Meyer each added eight kills, while Meyer put back three of the team's 12 blocks. Vorbeck had nine digs, while freshman Kelly Cole picked up seven in her collegiate debut.

The Gamecock offense hit .242 on the night, including a .481 clip in the fourth set. Their defense was stingy all night, limiting the Tigers to a .117 attack percentage. Altrese Hawkins led all players with 18 kills, while Marija Jovanovic added 11. Christine Bach's 16 digs led the way on the back row.

“It's great to get that first win under our belts,” JSU head coach Rick Nold said. “I was really happy to see the balance in our offense, and I thought Kara did a really good job of leading us both offensively and defensively with her blocking.”

The Gamecocks will continue play in the Belmont Invitational on Saturday, when they face Miami (Ohio) at 10 a.m. and host Belmont at 6 p.m.