FINAL STATS
JACKSONVILLE – 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.