RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky’s volleyball team led in each of the first two games but couldn’t hold off comebacks by Jacksonville State and lost 3-0 tonight at McBrayer Arena. The Colonels (1-17, 0-8 OVC) led 17-16 in game one before the Gamecocks (9-5, 6-1 OVC) used a 12-1 run to take control of the game. In the second game, EKU jumped out in front 6-1, led 10-4 and had a three point advantage at 17-14 but a 7-0 run by JSU turned the tide.

Game scores were 30-21, 30-23 and 30-17.

Reigning OVC Defensive Player of the Week Abbey Breit led the offensive charge for Jacksonville State, finishing with a match-high 15 kills. She also added 14 digs and three blocks. Rebekah Nichols finished with 12 kills and Caitlin Vorbeck totaled 10 kills. Vorbeck, Breit and Nichols finished with attack percentages of .529, .321 and .308 respectively. As a team, the Gamecocks hit .272. Brooke Schumacher had a match-high 44 assists.

Freshman Amanda Fago led EKU with nine kills. Junior Amanda Wilson had four blocks. Freshman Kate Hendle totaled a team-high 13 assists. The Colonels posted an attack percentage of .035.

A pair of kills by Breit, sandwiched around a kill by Joi Watts, gave Jacksonville State a 9-5 lead in the opening game. Eastern stayed within four points and when the Gamecocks committed four straight attack errors the match was tied at 12-12. The Colonels pushed ahead 17-16 on another JSU attack error.

The lead was short lived. The Gamecocks went on a 12-1 run that included six kills by Breit and Watts. After a kill by Nichols JSU led by 10, 28-18, and won the first game 30-21.

Five straight attack errors to lead off the second game by Jacksonville State allowed EKU to build a 6-1 lead. A JSU ball handling error made it 10-4 in favor of the Colonels, but the Gamecocks answered with a 9-2 run to take a 13-12 lead. Vorbeck had three kills during the run. Two kills by Fago helped Eastern reclaim a 17-14 advantage but Jacksonville had the answer again. The visitors rolled off seven straight points and pulled away for a 30-23 win.

It was all Gamecocks in game three. Jacksonville State pulled out in front 7-1 to start, went ahead 20-10 on a kill by Nichols and scored five straight to build a 15-point advantage, 29-14. Breit finished off the match with a kill.

The Colonels will be back in action on Saturday when Samford visits McBrayer Arena. The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.