JMU Drops Friday Match at Georgia Southern

Friday, October 25

Statesboro, Ga.

6 p.m.

James Madison University

10-9,5-4Sun Belt

Georgia Southern

16-2,6-1Sun Belt

James Madison

Ga. Southern

10/25/2024 8:24:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

STATESBORO, Ga. – James Madison fell 12-25, 25-22, 23-25, 18-25 to Georgia Southern at Hanner Fieldhouse on Friday evening in Sun Belt Conference volleyball action.

JMU fell to 10-9 and 5-4 in conference play with the loss, while Georgia Southern improved to 16-2 and 6-2 in league action. The Eagles snapped a seven-match losing streak to the Dukes that dated back to Sept. 18, 2009.

Olivia Vance matched a career-high in kills (14), while Brenya Reid nearly recorded a double-double with 17 kills and nine digs. Julia McNeley got the start at libero and notched 17 digs and Rebecca Watkins led the Dukes with 26 assists.

Georgia Southern hit .317 on the match and applied pressure at the service line, recording eight service aces. Four Eagles finished with double-digit kills, led by Paige Powers (14) and Jilian Gray (12). Kirsten Barrett led GS with 45 assists.

How It Happened
First Set: Georgia Southern 25-12

Georgia Southern outhit James Madison .500 to .195 and doubled up the Dukes in kills (14-7).
A kill from Julian Gray gave the Eagles a 15-8 lead at the first break.
GSU kept its foot on the pedal and pulled away for a convincing victory in the first set. Maggie Sale finished off the Dukes with a kill.

Second Set: James Madison 25-22

A service ace from Reid capped off a 4-0 run and gave the Dukes a 13-9 lead.
Cockrill picked up her second kill of the contest to put JMU ahead 15-11 at the media timeout.
Down 20-15, Georgia Southern rattled off four consecutive points to force a JMU timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Dukes scored four of the next five to regain a 24-20 advantage.
Smith closed out the second set with her eighth kill of the match.

Third Set: Georgia Southern 25-23

The Eagles held a slim 11-9 lead at the first timeout of the set.
JMU battled back to tie the score at 14-14 on a kill from Vance, but Georgia Southern edged ahead 18-5 with a Sale kill and ace from Kirsten Barrett.
The Dukes trailed 22-18 but scored five straight points to jump ahead 23-22. However, the Eagles stormed back with a 3-0 run to take the third.

Fourth Set: Georgia Southern 25-18

Georgia Southern stormed ahead 12-6 using a 7-0 run, but JMU answered with five straight to bring the Dukes to within 12-11.
The Eagles regained control, stretching their lead to 20-13 on a kill from Powers.
The Dukes trimmed the lead to five (23-18) but GS put away the Dukes on kills from Sale and Powers.

Match Notes

James Madison still leads the all-time series against Georgia Southern, 7-2.
Annie Smith now has double-digit kills in seven consecutive outings and has a hitting percentage of .389 in conference play.
McNeley collected double-digit digs for the seventh time in eight matches.

Up Next
JMU and Georgia Southern will play tomorrow at 1 p.m. to close out their two-match set.