Volleyball Falls 3-1 to Pepperdine

Saturday, September 12

Bowling Green, Ky.

1 p.m. ET (12 p.m. CT)

James Madison University

2-5,0-0Sun Belt

Pepperdine

6-3,0-0WCC

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
James Madison	22	20	25	19	1
Pepperdine	25	25	21	25	3

Kennedy Louisell serves the ball against WVU

9/12/2026 3:36:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

BOWLING GREEN, KY. - James Madison volleyball (2-5) dropped a tightly-contested four-set match to Pepperdine (6-3), 3-1, on Saturday afternoon to close out the Alyssa Cavanaugh Classic.

Across the first two sets, the Dukes came up just short (25-22, 25-20) after a combined 22 tied scores and 11 lead changes. They battled back with a 25-21 win in set three, anchored by a match-best 6.0 blocks, before dropping a 25-19 decision in the fourth and final set.

Kennedy Louisell led all players with 14 kills, tallying 18.5 points. She posted her 38th consecutive match with double-digit kills and added 13 digs to tally her fourth double-double of the season. The Dukes held the Waves to just a .188 hitting percentage while posting a .143 clip of their own, well below their season average of .248.

JMU returns home next weekend for the LD&B Insurance Invitational. The Dukes will host Delaware State, George Mason and UNCG at the Convocation Center Sept. 18-20.

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

Pepperdine used a 4-0 run to take the early lead, but JMU was able to answer with a 4-0 run of its own to go up 12-10.
The Dukes led by as many as four down the stretch before the Waves used a 5-0 scoring run to retake the lead at 22-21. The two teams traded points before Pepperdine closed it out with a 3-0 run for the 25-22 victory in set one.
JMU and Pepperdine were knotted up eight times and exchanged leads five times.

Set Two - PEP 25, JMU 20

The Dukes and Waves were tied up 14 times and exchanged the lead six times.
Neither team was able to build more than a two-point cushion until Pepperdine used a 5-0 scoring run to take a 23-20 lead over JMU. The Waves stretched it to a 7-0 run to take set two 25-20.

Set Three - JMU 25, PEP 21

JMU used a 8-0 scoring run to take a 16-6 lead over Pepperdine, the first double-digit lead for either team in the match.
The Dukes continued their run to a 10-0 spot, going up 18-6 over the Waves.
JMU led by as many as 13 points, but Pepperdine reeled off a 7-0 scoring run to pull back within six (21-15). The Waves eventually pulled within three at 23-20 off another shutout run (4-0), but the Dukes settled in and tallied the 25-21 win.

Set Four - PEP 25, JMU 19

After a back-and-forth start to the set, Pepperdine used a 5-0 scoring run to take a 9-4 lead, prompting a JMU timeout. The Waves continued the run out of the break, leading by as many as seven (11-4) before the Dukes put another point on the board.
Overall, Pepperdine led by as many as eight (13-5) off the 8-1 run. JMU, however, battled back to get within three (15-12).
The Dukes were within three points four more times before the Waves pulled out the 25-19 set win and a 3-1 match victory.

Match Notes

Kennedy Louisell led all players with 14 kills, her 38th consecutive match with double-digit kills. She finished with a 14-kill, 13-dig double-double effort, her fourth of the season, and added 4.0 blocks, tying her season high from yesterday versus Western Kentucky.
Addie Norman had her third double-digit kill performance of the season, adding 11 for the Dukes.
For the seventh straight match, JMU posted double-digit blocks (17.0). Anna Wilson led the effort with 8.0, closely followed by Ayen Nhial (7.0).
Grace Wenrich improved her season high in assists, notching 24 against the Waves.
Sydney Lewis tallied a season-best 23 digs.
Shelby Davis tied her career high with 3.0 service aces, her first such performance this season and third of her career.
Heading into today, the Dukes averaged 3.54 blocks per set. They stayed on that pace, averaging 4.25 blocks per set against Pepperdine.