JMU Drops Straight-Set Decision at Towson

Friday, October 10

Towson, Md.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

10-8, 2-3CAA

Towson

16-3, 3-2CAA

Team	1	2	3	Final F
James Madison	20	26	20	0
Towson	25	28	25	3

10/10/2014 9:30:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

TOWSON, Md. – The James Madison volleyball team was unable to overcome the strong hitting performance by Towson, falling 3-0 (20-25, 26-28, 20-25) in a Colonial Athletic Association match on Friday night at SECU Arena.

The Tigers had four players record double-digit kill performances to improve to 16-3 (3-2 CAA) while the Dukes lost for the third straight outing, bringing their record to 10-8 (2-3 CAA).

For JMU, senior middle blocker Lizzy Briones (Siloam Springs, Ark./Siloam Springs) and sophomore outside hitter Kate Whitmire (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) tied for the team lead in kills, with nine each, as Briones hit .333 (9-1-24) and Whitmire hit for .286 (9-3-21). As a team, Madison hit .204 (26-13-113).

Junior setter Sarah Patterson (Roanoke, Va./Hidden Valey) led all players with a match-best 29 assists and junior defensive specialist MacKenzie Kleespies (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove) paced the back line with 15 digs, also a match high.

TU was led by Victoria Williams, who registered 16 kills with a .520 hitting percentage (16-3-25). Three others combined for 31 terminations as Towson hit .301 as a team (58-18-133). Aimee Schubert had a team-best 27 assists while Barbara Lopez chipped in 20 assists in the win. On the defensive side, Paige Sekerak and Capri Tirrell tallied 23 digs, collectively.

In the first, JMU stormed out of the gates, taking an early 6-2 lead. Towson was able to calm things down, rallying off the next five points to gain its first lead of the night at 7-6. The teams traded points but with the set knotted up at 13-13, the Tigers reeled off three straight points, capped off by a pair of JMU attack errors, giving the hosts a 16-13 lead. The Dukes scored the next point but Towson scored seven of the set's next nine points to grab a 23-16 advantage. Madison scored three of four but a kill by Haley Pa'akaula ended the first set, 25-20.

The second set remained tight for much of the early goings as neither team led by more than a point until JMU scored three straight to take a 13-11 lead. The frame remained extremely tight and the Dukes held a 19-17 lead after the Tigers had tied it five times since the previous two-point lead.

Trailing 23-22, TU scored the next two on a service ace and JMU error, setting up the first set point. The Dukes staved off Towson's first set point with a kill and an ensuing Tiger error set up a JMU set point at 25-24. Williams answered with two kills, giving Towson a 26-25 lead but Whitmire came back with a kill of her own to tie it at 26-26. Candace Steadman registered a kill for the 27-26 lead for the home team, and the Tigers took the second set, 28-26, after Briones had her attack attempt blocked by Steadman.

The Tigers took control of the third set when they broke the 10-10 tie with a 5-1 run with four kills and an ace, forcing JMU to spend a timeout. JMU climbed back to within two at 15-13 but a pair of Williams kills forced the Dukes to take another timeout, trailing 17-13. Madison moved to within two twice more in the match, with the last coming at 21-19, but the Tigers closed things out with a 4-1 run to earn the 25-20 set victory and match win.

The Dukes will round out their weekend road trip Sunday, Oct. 12 as they look to get back on the winning track with a match at Delaware. The match is set for a 1 p.m. start.