Dukes Fall to No. 17 Missouri in Season Opener

Friday, August 29

Fort Myers, Fla.

6 p.m.

James Madison University

0-1,0-0Sun Belt

Missouri

1-0,0-0SEC

Missouri

James Madison

8/29/2025 7:46:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The James Madison volleyball team fell in straight sets (19-25, 15-25, 20-25) to No. 17 Missouri on Friday evening at Alico Arena to open its 2025 season.

Missouri (1-0) hit an efficient .374 as a team, while James Madison (0-1) hit .192 with eight service errors. Middle Kimani Johnson led the Tigers' attack with 13 kills at an .812 clip (13-0-16), while Caylen Alexander chipped in 14 kills.

In her JMU debut, Kennedy Louisell recorded the third double-double of her career, tallying a match-high 15 kills while adding 10 digs and hitting .382 (15-2-34). Freshman Ana Toumazatos recorded six kills in her first collegiate match, while redshirt junior Melisa Ilter led JMU's defense with seven blocks.

How It Happened
First Set: Missouri 25-19

The Tigers scored the first six points of the match to force a JMU timeout.
The Dukes trimmed the lead to three (9-6) on a kill from Toumazatos.
MU responded with a 6-1 run to go ahead 15-7 and make the Dukes burn another timeout.
Four straight points from JMU cut the deficit to 19-15, but Missouri was able to put away the Dukes in the first.

Second Set: Missouri 25-15

The Tigers pulled ahead 10-5 in the second on a kill from Paige Felder.
A service ace from Julia McNeley capped a 3-0 run for the Dukes to cut the deficit to 10-8.
Missouri scored on nine of the next 10 rallies to open a commanding 19-9 lead.
JMU got no closer than eight as the Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the match.

Third Set: Missouri 25-20

JMU took the first timeout of the set as a Toumazatos attacking error gave Missouri an 8-5 lead.
The Dukes kept the score close for a few rallies, but Missouri converted on six of eight rallies to gain a commanding 18-12 advantage.
JMU responded with four straight points to cut the deficit to 24-20, but Missouri closed out the match with an Alexander kill, sealing the third set.

Match Notes

The loss snaps a four-match winning streak for JMU in season openers dating back to the spring 2021 season.
Louisell's double-double is the third of her career and first in a JMU uniform.

Up Next
James Madison will continue its weekend in Florida with a match at 7 p.m. (ET) tomorrow against Florida Gulf Coast. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.