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JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State volleyball team will wrap up its three-match homestand on Tuesday, when the Gamecocks host Tennessee Tech at 7 p.m. in an early season battle atop the Ohio Valley Conference standings.
 
The match will be streamed live on the OVC Digital Network and will be free for fans to watch online, while admission to the match at Pete Mathews Coliseum is free, as well.
 
"This is a really big match for both teams, especially for this early in the season," JSU head coach Terry Gamble said. "We both surprised a lot of people in our league with two big wins over the weekend and want to keep that going. Tennessee Tech is a lot like us in a lot of ways, and we will have our hands full on Tuesday."
 
The Gamecocks (8-8, 2-0 OVC) and Golden Eagles (7-11, 2-0 OVC) enter the midweek tilt after each shocking the league with a pair of wins over preseason favorites Eastern Illinois and SIUE last weekend. The Gamecocks disposed of the Cougars on Friday and the Panthers on Saturday, both thrilling wins in five sets. TTU also hosted the league's Illinois members on alternate days.
 
"I was really pleased with the way we played this weekend, especially with how hard our team played in both matches," Gamble added. "It was nice to play at home in front of our fans, who were great in both matches and really helped us in two matches that could've gone either way. Hopefully with all of our students in town during the week, we can get a great crowd here for the Tennessee Tech match."
 
Jax State rode a dominating weekend from its senior middle blocker, Nicole Merget, who averaged 4.1 kills per set on a .365 attack percentage from the front row. The Canton, Mich., native had at least 20 kills in each match and also averaged just under a block per set. Junior Brianne Glidewell had 20 kills on the weekend on a .372 attack percentage.
 
Freshman setter Jennifer Hart had the best week of her young career, breaking her career high in assists twice with 53 on Friday and 59 on Saturday. The Davidson, N.C., native dished 11.2 per set, third in the league last week, and helped the Gamecocks hit over .200 in both matches. She also recorded double-doubles in both matches with 14 digs against SIUE and 16 against EIU.
 
Juniors Emily Rutherford and Samantha Bohne each had 34 digs to lead the Gamecock defense over the weekend.
 
Tennessee Tech was led by Cody Dodd, who averaged an OVC-best 5.44 kills per set last week and also led the league with four service aces. Courtney Smith's 6.78 digs per game also were tops in the OVC in the first weekend of conference matches.