JMU Grits Out 3-2 Win at Georgia State

Friday, October 2

Atlanta, Ga.

6 p.m.

James Madison University

9-5,4-0Sun Belt

Georgia State

6-10,0-4Sun Belt

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
James Madison	25	20	18	25	15	3
Georgia St.	22	25	25	20	13	2

Match Notes

10/2/2026 9:41:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

ATLANTA, Ga. - James Madison volleyball gritted out a 3-2 victory at Georgia State on Friday night to remain undefeated in Sun Belt action.

The Dukes (9-5, 4-0 SBC) stretched their win streak to seven matches while the Panthers (6-10, 0-4 SBC) have lost six straight contests.

JMU took set one after leading wire-to-wire, but Georgia State settled in and took sets two and three. The Dukes, however, used late runs in sets four and five to secure the match victory. Overall, the two teams sat tied 19 times and exchanged the lead nine times across the final four sets.

Kennedy Louisell led all scorers with 31 kills, a season high, on .435 hitting (31-4-62). She added a season-best 15 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.

The Dukes edged the Panthers in hitting, .279 to .276, but GSU had 71 total kills compared to JMU's 60. As a team, JMU stood tall at the net to help control the Georgia State offense, tallying 13.0 blocks.

JMU stays on the road for a pair of SBC contests at Marshall next week, facing the Thundering Herd on Oct. 8 at 6 p.m. and Oct. 9 at 3 p.m. in Huntington, W. Va. As of Oct. 2, Marshall is 10-4 overall (3-0 in SBC).

How We Got Here
Set One - JMU 25, GSU 22

JMU scored the first three points of the evening, part of a 9-2 opening run by the Dukes. This included Kennedy Louisell's five points from 2.0 service aces and 1.000 hitting (3-0-3) and a successful challenge by Lauren Steinbrecher for a net violation.
The stretch included a 5-0 scoring run that was ended by a GSU kill before JMU regained control and continued its push on a 7-1 run. The Panthers called timeout with the Dukes up 11-3.
The Panthers rallied to within one twice down the home stretch, but JMU scored the final two points to take set one, 25-22.
Kennedy Louisell hit .467 (8-1-15) and Ana Toumazatos hit .500 (5-1-8), including the final kills of the set.

Set Two - GSU 25, JMU 20

GSU opened set two on a 3-0 run before JMU returned the favor with its own 3-0 spurt.
The Panthers maintained their advantage early, responding to the Dukes every time they pulled within one.
JMU and GSU tied back up at 8-8 and 9-9 before a Louisell kill gave the Dukes their first lead of the set at 10-9. The Dukes used an overall 4-0 scoring run to stretch their lead to three (12-9).
A GSU 3-0 scoring run tied the match (13-13) for the fourth time, which the Panthers stretched to a 5-0 run for a two-point advantage (15-13) heading into the media break.
The Dukes won a lengthy rally, which held up under challenge, thanks to a block assist between Ayen Nhial and Louisell. The effort sparked a 3-0 JMU scoring run to put the Dukes back out in front (16-15).
GSU answered with their own 3-0 run, going out in front 18-16 in the fourth and final lead change of the set.
The set loss snapped a 19-set win streak by the Dukes.

Set Three - GSU 25, JMU 18

In the early goings, JMU led by as many as four (6-2, 7-3) before GSU cut the advantage in half.
A 3-0 GSU scoring run tied the match at 9-all for the first time since the opening serve, but JMU responded with a pair of kills from Louisell to retake the lead. GSU stayed steady and put together another 3-0 stretch to take its first lead of the third set at 12-11. The Panthers pushed it to a 4-0 stretch before JMU buried a kill.
GSU ran a 6-1 scoring stretch into the media timeout to hold a 15-12 advantage at the break as the Panthers were hitting .421 (9-1-19) compared to the Dukes' .292 hitting percentage (10-3-24).
The Dukes came out aggressively from the timeout, scoring four of the next five points to tie the game for a third time (16-all).
After a 17-all tie score, GSU finished the set on a 8-1 scoring run to take set three 25-18 and a 2-1 match advantage.

Set Four - JMU 25, GSU 20

While Georgia State tallied the opening point, JMU answered with a 3-0 scoring run, including back-to-back aces by Nhial, for a 3-1 lead.
Early, JMU led by as many as four (8-4), including Louisell's 20th kill of the night, before back-to-back GSU points cut the lead in half.
After JMU went up by five, the Panthers put together a 4-0 scoring run to cut the lead to one (14-13). The Dukes took advantage of a GSU service error to take a 15-13 lead into the media timeout.
In a back-and-forth battle, JMU closed the set on a 3-0 run, capped by a Shelby Davis service ace, to take the fourth set and tie the match at 2-2.

Set Five - JMU 15, GSU 13

To start, the Dukes and Panthers went point-for-point with one lead change and two ties.
JMU edged ahead 4-2 off a block by Anna Wilson and Ella Grace Holloway before GSU responded with back-to-back kills.
Dotted with challenges, the Dukes and Panthers ended up tied eight times in set five before JMU took the lead and ran the advantage into match point. The Dukes closed the set on a 3-1 run for the win.
This marks JMU's first 5-set victory of the year.

Match Notes

JMU stretched its win streak to seven consecutive matches.
The Dukes are 4-0 in SBC action, including 2-0 against East Division opponents. This is the first time since 2023 JMU has started league play 4-0.
JMU has won 21 of their last 23 sets played.
Kennedy Louisell posted a season-high 31 kills on .435 hitting (31-4-62). She added a season-best 15 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.
Louisell scored in double figures for the 45th consecutive time and eclipsed the 15-kill mark for the 34th time in her career. This is just the third time in her career she's gone over the 30-kill mark.
As a team, JMU had 60 kills. This marked just the second time this season the Dukes have had 60 or more kills as a unit.
The Dukes tallied 10 service aces, the third time this season the team has reached double digits. Louisell led the way with five.
Grace Wenrich had a season-high 26 assists, followed closely behind by Lindsey Large's 25 helpers.
The 57 assists JMU was credited with is the most by the team this season.
JMU finished with 13.0 blocks, led by Ayen Nhial (5.0), the 10th time the team reached double-digit blocks. The Dukes limited the Panthers to just 2.0 blocks, tied for the fewest allowed by a JMU team this season.
Sydney Lewis notched a team-best 18 digs.
Shelby Davis tied her career high with 8.0 digs, and Grace Wenrich tied her season high with the same.
The Dukes finished with 64 digs, the most they've had in a match this season.
The Panthers' 71 kills is the most by any JMU opponent this season. They also hit .276 (71-24-170), the second-best mark by a JMU opponent in 2026.
JMU is now 20-6 all-time against Georgia State. The Dukes have won the last five and 13 of the last 14 meetings.