Volleyball Blows Past George Mason 3-0

Friday, September 30

Harrisonburg, Va.

James Madison University

12-4 (3-0CAA)

George Mason

7-8 (2-1CAA)

George Mason

James Madison

10/1/2011 1:10:00 AM | Volleyball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va., Sept. 30, 2011 – In a matchup of the only two 2-0 teams in the Colonial Athletic Association, the James Madison volleyball team outhit George Mason .262 to .150 to earn a 3-0 win over its in-state rival in front of a homecoming crowd at Sinclair Gymnasium/Godwin Hall on Friday.

JMU won its third straight match, taking set scores of 25-19, 25-21, 25-15 to improve to 12-4 overall and 3-0 in the CAA. Mason had its winning streak halted at four games and dropped to 7-8 overall and 2-1 in the conference.

“I thought we came out strong,” head volleyball coach Lauren Steinbrecher said. “We served really aggressive which was the key to winning tonight. George Mason had a little trouble staying in system. I thought we played good defense and I was really proud of [senior outside hitter] Holly Wall (Kaukauna, Wisc./Kaukauna) and her offensive effort tonight.”

Wall led the Dukes offensively with a match-high 11 kills on .474 hitting, adding eight digs and a service ace. Redshirt junior outside hitter Natalie Abel (Washington, Pa./Trinity) added 10 kills and nine digs while junior outside hitter Danielle Erb (Tampa, Fla./Plant) and sophomore middle blocker Kelly Maguire (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central) each added nine kills. Erb added a team-high 13 digs and a block assist. Setters junior Megan Wiechmann (Sunland, Calif./Village Christian) and redshirt freshman Kristi Richardson (Glen Allen, Va./Hermitage) combined for 32 assists, seven digs, two blocks and two kills.

Mason was led by Noelle Fanella with nine kills and four digs. Reigning CAA Offensive Player of the Week Lana Zonjic had six kills, but was limited to just a .037 hitting percentage, adding nine digs and a block. Kelly McCarter collected a match-high 15 kills while Kelsey Bohman had five kills on .455 hitting and four blocks.

The Dukes trailed for a total of seven points in the match, collecting 41 kills to Mason's 33. Madison had 52 digs to GMU's 41 and won the service ace battle four to one. The Patriots led in blocks six to three.

The Dukes jumped out to an early lead in set one, winning the first four points before Mason battled back to cut the lead to 11-10 after a block by Laura Spencer. JMU took control of the match with an 8-2 run forcing Patriots coach Pat Kendrick to take her first time