Box Score
Blacksburg, Va. - The Long Island University volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 30-28) loss to Jacksonville State in a matchup of two 2009 NCAA Tournament participants in the opening match of the Hokie Invitational, hosted by Virginia Tech. After falling behind two sets to none, the Blackbirds gave the Gamecocks a run for their money in the third frame but eventually fell short.
After taking a 9-5 lead in the first set, Jacksonville State scored six straight points to take a double-digit lead at 15-5. From there, the closest the Blackbirds would get would be within nine points as the Gamecocks took the first frame, 25-13.
The second stanza was a closer affair and Long Island took its first lead of the match at 8-7 thanks to back-to-back points coming from a kill from sophomore
Jessica Rice and a Jacksonville State error. The Gamecocks quickly turned the tables with three straight points including a pair of kills from Kara Slater. After the Blackbirds narrowed their deficit to 13-12, Jacksonville State seized control of the set with an 11-1 run en route to a 25-17 win.
In the third set, Long Island opened up an 8-6 lead on a kill by senior
Zuzana Buchlova. Later, Jacksonville State broke a 13-13 tie with three straight points. After a service error, the Gamecocks struck three more times to take a 19-14 lead. The Blackbirds trimmed the lead to 20-17 but Jacksonville appeared unwilling to let Long Island get any closer.
With the score 23-19, Long Island flustered the Gamecocks into three straight errors to pull within 23-22 and force a timeout. After the break, a ballhandling error by Brooke Schumaker tied the set. Jacksonville State responded with a kill by Jen Meyer, forcing the Blackbirds to call for a timeout of their own. Following the timeout, freshman
Hanna Gibeau tallied a kill to knot the set once again.
Jacksonville State went ahead twice more but was unable to put Long Island away. Back-to-back attack errors gave the Blackbirds a 27-26 lead and the Gamecocks called their final timeout. A service error by Rice tied it yet again and a kill by Caitlin Vorbeck put Long Island at the brink of defeat, but Vorbeck followed up with an error to tie the score at 28-28.
Vorbeck struck again and gave her team a 29-28 lead, forcing the Blackbirds into their final timeout. After the pause, an attack error by Gibeau gave the Gamecocks the 30-28 set win and with it a three-set victory.
Gibeau led Long Island with seven kills and Buchlova chipped in six. Junior
Chelsey Stanton turned in a team-high 17 kills. Meyer’s 11 kills led all players and Slater added 10 for Jacksonville State, which hit .246 as a team. The Blackbirds hit .106. The Gamecocks enjoyed a 45-27 advantage in the kills company.
Long Island will continue play at the Hokie Invitational with a pair of matches on Saturday, Sept. 4. The Blackbirds will take on host Virginia Tech at noon before squaring off with Coastal Carolina at 5:00 p.m.