Dukes Fall 3-0 to Marquette

Friday, September 12

Milwaukee, Wisc.

Noon

James Madison University

4-4

Marquette

4-2

James Madison

Marquette

9/12/2014 1:43:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Box Score

MILWAUKEE, Wisc. - The James Madison volleyball team dropped its first match of the Marquette Invitational on Friday afternoon, falling to the host Golden Eagles in a 3-0 (25-12, 25-9, 25-17) decision.

In the first set, Briones put down kills for JMU's first two points, as the Dukes kept things close in the early stages. JMU saw deficits of 5-4 and 13-9 before the Golden Eagles reeled off a 12-3 run to take the opening frame, 25-12. The second set also saw Marquette put together a series of runs, as it started the frame with a 13-4 lead. JMU took three of the next four points, with kills from senior middle blocker Lizzy Briones and junior outside hitter Meghan Niski, but an 11-2 Golden Eagle run closed out the set at 25-9.

After the break, the Dukes were able to seize some of the momentum, as they used a well-rounded attack and kills from four different players to take an 8-5 lead early in the frame. Marquette struck back with a 7-2 run that included a pair of JMU errors and a service ace to take a 12-10 lead and didn't allow another tie. The Golden Eagles pulled away and took the final set, 25-17.

Marquette (4-2), who entered the match as the country's top team outside of the AVCA Top 25, held the Dukes (4-4) to a .038 hitting percentage on the day. Briones led the offense with six kills, while junior defensive specialist Sierra Hahn-Ventrell picked up 10 digs on the afternoon.

JMU will be back in action at the Marquette Invitational tomorrow afternoon, as they take on UTSA at 3 p.m. EST before capping off its tournament with a match against Rice at 7 p.m. EST. Links to live stats for both matches will be available on JMUSports.com.