Red Hawks overpower Jacksonville State volleyball team at Ohio Valley Conference
The Southeast Missouri Redhawks improved to a 3-1 record by winning the Ohio Valley Conference match against their rivals from Jacksonville State.
The Houck Fieldhouse in Cape Girardeau, Missouri hosted the match on Friday, September 23 as the Redhawks staged a quick win in the early two sets and built up a 2-0 lead by sending 25-15, 27-25 onto the board. Jacksonville team hit back powerfully in the
third set and snatched the set from the Hawks, 25-16. The Gamecocks continued with great energy in the fourth set and gave tough competition to Redhawks. Nonetheless, the locals earned a two-point advantage and closed off the game with 25-23 in the fourth
set.
The interesting match continued for almost two hours, while 235 spectators witnessed the action.
The home team kicked off the first set with prolific serves and put pressure on their competitors with back-to-back attacks. Junior Karlee Lursen notched consecutive points on kills, while Emily Coon dismissed many of her opponent’s attack attempts. Jacksonville
State progressed at a slow pace and could not defend its position in the first set. Hawks secured the opening set with a total of 15 kills and a hitting percentage of .406. The scoreboard showed a 25-15 win for Southeast Missouri at the end of the set.
The game took a turbulent change in the following set as Gamecocks came up with a hostile response. They started out with heavy strike of volleys and jumped to a massive lead of 12-3. Jacksonville maintained its lead up to the second technical timeout, while
Hawks continued their effort to chase the score. They hit four consecutive points and shortened the gap of points to 13-18. The Gamecocks had a better position in the match and they could have used the advantage to claim set points. However, Redhawks used
back-row attack and incorporated a 4-0 run to tie the score at 24-all. The pressure shifted to the Gamecocks and they ended up receiving a 25-27 defeat in the second set.
The Gamecocks once again built up momentum in the third set. They formed good combinations and managed to steal an early lead from the opposite team. JSU’s senior Stephanie Koontz made good use of her hands and directed the ball into the right opening. The
situation got better for the Gamecocks and they finally found their feet in the game. Southeast Missouri could only hit .031 and committed seven errors, which gave a clear edge to JSU who sealed a third-set win at 25-16.
The fourth set turned out to be a heated competition. Both sides exchanged long rallies and traded the lead frequently. The score tied 13 times in the fourth set. Redhawks committed eight errors, while JSU was down with 10. Hawks saw themselves down 23-22
but thanks to junior Brittney Kalinoski and her exceptionally performance, she tied the match and forced two attacking errors to claim the win.
Tags: