VOLLEYBALL TRIMMED BY TOWSON IN TIGHT MATCH

Friday, November 11

Towson, Md.

James Madison University

Towson

11/11/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball

TOWSON, Md. - It was an exciting night at the Towson Center as senior April Hoffman (Omaha, Neb./Millard North) broke the career kills record and the Tigers came away with a 3-2 (30-25, 25-30, 33-35, 30-27, 15-13) victory against James Madison. Towson improved to 25-6 overall and 13-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) while the Dukes fell to 14-11 overall and 8-9 in the conference.

Hoffman finished the night with 25 kills on .302 hitting, eight digs and a pair of service aces. Her historic kill came in the fifth game of the night to halt 5-3 rally by the Dukes. Hoffman has collected 1,508 kills over her career, surpassing Sarah Miller's mark of 1,506 set one year ago. Hoffman is third all-time in digs with 1,345 digs and is second all-time in aces with 201 for her career. She is the only Tiger to be in the top-three in all three categories.

Senior Lindsey Hardin (Moorpark, Calif./Moorpark) and junior Christina Grempler (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) were also in double figures as Hardin finished the night with 14 kills while Grempler posted 15 kills. Setter Kim Snider (Carrollton, Texas/Hebron) fresh off of CAA Player of the Week honors put up 62 assists, seven digs, five kills and three blocks. Freshman Alison Essink (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln) recorded 21 digs on the night.

Freshman Kelsey McNamara (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) led the way for the Dukes with a career-high 23 kills and 10 digs while hitting .423. Sophomore Allyson Halls (Columbus, Ohio/Olentangy) had 15 kills while junior Ashley Copenhaver (Hedgesville, W.Va./Hedgesville) posted 12. Jena Pierson registered a match-high 25 digs, while three other Dukes each had 10 digs.

James Madison out-blocked Towson, 10-6. The Dukes also out-hit the Tigers recording a .306 attack percentage while Towson hit just .263.

The Tigers opened an 8-3 lead to begin the night and would go on to extend it to 14-7 until the Dukes rallied back. James Madison went on a 12-4 run to go ahead 19-18. The two teams would exchange the next several points, but with the score tied at 22-22, the Tigers went on an 8-3 run to capture the 30-25 win.

James Madison went on a 15-9 run to start game two and never seemed to look back. The Tigers pulled within 26-21, but the Dukes were able to hang on for the victory. James Madison hit .441 as a team with 17 kills and just two errors while Towson hit .275 with 18 kills and seven errors.

Game three was a see-saw battle throughout with 17 ties and nine lead changes. Both teams had opportunities to put the match away down the stretch, but solid defensive plays allowed each to stay in the game. McNamara came up big for the Dukes with a block to put JMU ahead 33-32. A Dukes' service error would again tie the score but James Madison took advantage of two errors by the Tigers to come away with the 35-33 win.

Towson took a 10-7 lead to start game four and would not trail the rest away as they evened the match at two games apiece. James Madison kept things interesting, tying the score 17-17, but the Tigers went on a 4-0 run to gain some breathing room. Nora Quish would later pull the Dukes within 27-25 with a kill, but Towson was able to hang on for the win.