Dominant Third Set Anchors JMU's 3-1 Win Over UNCG

Friday, September 18

Harrisonburg, Va.

6 p.m.

James Madison University

3-5,0-0Sun Belt

UNCG

5-4,0-0SoCon

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
UNC Greensboro	25	21	8	18	1
James Madison	22	25	25	25	3

Match Notes

Ayen Nhial celebrates with teammates against UNCG

9/18/2026 8:47:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - James Madison volleyball (3-5) used a dominant third set to propel the Dukes to a 3-1 victory over the UNCG Spartans (5-4) on day one of the LD&B Insurance Invitational.

UNCG opened match play with a 25-22 win, but JMU settled in for a 25-21 win in set two before dominating the third set with a 25-8 victory. The Dukes clinched the match by taking the fourth set 25-18, snapping a five-match losing streak. It also kept them undefeated at home this season.

As a team, JMU hit .383 (55-9-120) for the match, setting a new season high and marking the first time the Dukes have hit above .350 as a team since posting a .354 attack percentage (71-13-164) against Ball State on Sept. 14, 2025. This also set a new four-set Convo record, which previously sat at .333 (52-9-129) from Aug. 27, 2023 against UMBC.

Kennedy Louisell led all players with a season-best 24 kills, hitting .524 on the night (24-2-42). Ana Toumazatos got in on the offensive surge with a season-best 12 kills and a career-best 8.0 digs.

Defensively, the JMU frontline shut UNCG down, making 17.0 blocks on the night. This marks the Dukes' eighth consecutive double-digit block performance this season and kept them on pace with their nation-leading average of 3.65 blocks per set.

Ayen Nhial led the effort at the net with a season-high 13.0 blocks (2 bs, 11 ba). Ella Grace Holloway and Melisa Ilter each added 7.0 blocks (7 ba each) on the night, marking a career high and a season high, respectively.

The Dukes are back in action on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 4pm when they face Delaware State on the second day of the LD&B Insurance Invitational. The Hornets lost their day one match against George Mason 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 19-25, 25-13).

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

UNCG took a lead off a 4-0 run, but JMU answered with its own 4-0 run to go up 8-7.
While the Dukes and Spartans traded leads, Louisell went 6-for-8 (.750) on the floor and Addie Norman followed behind at 2-for-4.
With JMU up 15-14 at the media timeout, UNCG rattled off a 5-1 run to take their seventh lead of the day, prompting a JMU timeout.
The Dukes and Spartans exchanged 14 ties and eight lead changes.
Five of the first eight points across both teams came from service errors. JMU finished with six service errors and UNCG had five.
JMU was held to just 2.0 blocks in the first set.

Set Two - JMU 25, UNCG 21

UNCG opened on a 4-1 run to take the first lead. JMU answered with a 4-1 run of its own to tie it back up at 5-5.
Down 8-7, JMU rattled off a 7-1 run to go up 14-9, capped by a successful challenge by head coach Lauren Steinbrecher. The lead was the first for the Dukes since the 16-15 mark of the first set.
UNCG used a 5-0 scoring run to retake the lead at 18-17, but the Dukes and Spartans would go on to trade points until an Ayen Nhial block gave JMU the two-point (22-20) advantage, prompting a UNCG timeout.
As a team, JMU hit .371 (16-35) in the second set while holding UNCG to .122 (12-41).

Set Three - JMU 25, UNCG 8

UNCG once again scored the opening point, but JMU answered with a 3-0 run to go up on the Spartans and take control.
JMU pushed the set out to a commanding 18-4 lead, including a 10-0 scoring run, before the Spartans got a point back.
The Dukes hit .429 in the 3rd set and held UNCG to -.036.

Set Four - JMU 25, UNCG 18

UNCG opened the fourth set on a 4-1 run before JMU started battling back, including a 6-0 run that gave the Dukes an 11-7 lead.
JMU led by as many as six points before the media timeout (15-9) and then pushed out to lead by as many as eight.
The Spartans pulled to within four at 20-16 before the Dukes pulled away for the 25-18 win.

Match Notes

Ayen Nhial finished with a season-best 13 blocks and added 7.0 kills on the evening, third most by a Duke in the match.
Ella Grace Holloway had 7.0 blocks on the night, marking a new career high for the third year outside hitter.
Melisa Ilter added a season-best 7.0 blocks herself.
Kennedy Louisell had a season-high 24 kills, her 39th consecutive match in double digits. She hit .524 (24-2-42) on the night, the first time a Duke has hit over .500 for a match (min. 12k) since Louisell hit .516 (17-1-31) against Bellarmine last season (9/5/25).
Louisell finished with 28.0 points on the night, well above her season average of 4.82 point per set, which ranked 25th nationally coming into the night.
Ana Toumazatos chipped in a season-high 12 kills and added a career-high 8.0 digs.
Grace Wenrich had 21 assists, her third straight match above the 20-assist mark. Lindsey Large had a team-high 22 assists, the fifth time she has gone above the 20-assist mark this season.
Despite being held to just two blocks in the first set, the JMU frontline settled in and finished with 17.0 blocks on the night. This continues the Dukes' stretch of double-digit block performances this season and kept them on pace with their nation-leading average of 3.65 blocks per set.
The Dukes held the Spartans to a .159 hitting percentage (46-24-138) this evening, their second straight match keeping an opponent below the .160 mark.