HARRISONBURG, Va. (JMU Athletics) – Junior Kennedy Louisell tallied 25 kills to lead James Masion volleyball to a 3-1 (28-26, 21-25, 25-19, 25-16) win over UT Rio Grande Valley on Friday evening inside the Convocation Center.
JMU improved to 5-5, hitting .331 and winning its fifth match in seven tries. UTRGV dropped to 3-6 on the season.
Louisell hit .431 and recorded her third match with 25+ kills this season. Freshman Ana Toumazatos had 14 kills and four digs, while Anna Wilson had a career-high 10 kills and hit .692, also a career high.
Grace Wenrich led the Dukes with 28 assists, while Rebecca Watkins and Jordan Smart had 14 apiece. Julia McNeley recorded 15 digs to lead JMU.
Nadine Zech had 14 kills to lead UTRGV, while Dimitra Nanou had a double-double with 12 kills and 16 digs.
How It Happened
First Set: James Madison 28-26
• A kill from Toumazatos gave JMU a 15-11 lead in the first.
• Wilson pushed the lead to three (20-17) and forced a Vaquero timeout.
• Out of the timeout, UTRGV rallied to tie the set at 22-22 and eventually took a 25-24 lead for its first set point.
• Down 26-25, JMU scored the last three points of the set to rally for the 1-0 lead.
Second Set: UTRGV 25-21
• The visitors jumped ahead 12-9 in the second, prompting a JMU timeout.
• The Vaqueros’ lead grew to seven (18-11) as the Dukes used another timeout.
• JMU cut the lead to 20-17, but UTRGV pulled away to even the match at 1-1.
Third Set: James Madison 25-19
• An ace from Shelby Davis gave JMU a 13-9 lead, part of a 4-0 scoring run.
• The Dukes continued to pull ahead, as Wilson picked up an ace to make it 20-13.
• JMU cruised to the set win to go ahead 2-1.
Fourth Set: James Madison 25-16
• It was a back-and-forth battle early. Tied 12-12, seven straight points for JMU gave the Dukes control in the set.
• JMU cruised to a victory in the fourth and won the match 3-1.
Match Notes
• JMU moved to 1-0 against URTGV in the first all-time meeting between the schools.
• Through 10 matches, JMU is hitting .276 as a team – which would be the highest mark for a JMU team in the rally-scoring era (2001-present).
• Louisell now has 207 kills in 10 matches this season. It is her fifth match with 20-plus kills and third with 25 or more.
• Louisell also has a hitting percentage of .363 and is averaging 5.31 kills per set.
Up Next
JMU continues its weekend with a match tomorrow at 7 p.m.
— JMU Athletics —
