BOX SCORE

RICHMOND, Ky. – The Jacksonville State volleyball team rallied after a first-set loss to hand Eastern Kentucky a 3-1 (28-30, 25-22, 25-16, 25-19) defeat at McBrayer Arena on Saturday.

The Gamecocks (6-7, 1-1 Ohio Valley Conference) hit .269 as a team, thanks to a group of five players with eight or more kills. Their defense blocked 12 swings by the Colonels (2-9, 1-1 OVC) and held them to a .135 attack percentage.

“I really thought we did a good job of shaking off a slow start to battle back for the win,” JSU head coach Rick Nold said. “We are at our best when we have balance, and today our passing gave us the chance to get everybody involved.”

Sophomore Jen Meyer used a .367 attack percentage to knock down a team-high 14 kills, while blocking four shots on the defensive side of the net. Sophomore Alyx Schulte picked up a double-double in the win with 14 digs and 13 kills, thanks to a .355 attack percentage.

Senior Caitlin Vorbeck put back three solo blocks and assisted on four more, while joining Schulte and senior Kara Slater in a trio of JSU players with 13 kills in the match. Slater needed just 26 swings to account for her 13 kills, and fellow senior Brooke Schumacher set up JSU's offense with 46 assists.

Junior Lauren Harkins recorded 26 of the Gamecocks' 63 digs on the afternoon, while Shumacher added eight.

The Colonels got 15 kills and 13 digs from Ashley Edmond and 10 kills from Lauren Snyder. Abby O'Connor led the EKU defense with 31 digs.

The Gamecocks will return home after a nine-game road stretch on Friday, when they host Tennessee State at 7 p.m. at Pete Mathews Coliseum. They will wrap up the weekend on Saturday with a 2 p.m. matchup with Austin Peay. Admission to all JSU home matches is free.