Niski, Dukes Sweep Past Northeastern, 3-0

Friday, October 17

Harrisonburg, Va.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

11-9 (3-4CAA)

Northeastern

9-12 (1-6CAA)

Northeastern

James Madison

10/17/2014 9:51:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Junior outside hitter Meghan Niski (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) logged her sixth double-double of the season to lead the James Madison volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-22) sweep over Northeastern on Friday night at Sinclair Gymnasium.

Niski racked up 14 digs to go with her 10 kills on the evening, as the Dukes moved to 11-9 (3-4 CAA) on the year. Sophomore right side Janey Goodman (Powhatan, Va./Powhatan) tallied 13 kills of her own, her 14th double-digit performance of the year and tied for the match-high.

The first set was back and forth for much of the early play, before the Dukes scored four straight to take a 14-9 lead. Northeastern battled all the way back to cut JMU's lead to 19-18, but a 6-1 run from the Dukes, including a pair of kills from Goodman, closed out the frame at 25-19.

In the second set, JMU was able to jump out to an earlier lead, using six straight points, this time with three kills from Goodman, to storm out to an 11-6 lead. The Dukes were able to keep their distance before using a separate 7-0 run to go up 23-12 and put the set out of reach, eventually cruising to a 25-16 win.

The third frame was decidedly closer throughout. The Dukes went up 13-8 with a 4-0 run that saw JMU tally blocks on three consecutive points. Northeastern was able to draw within two at 16-14, JMU steadily pulled away to lead by as much as six at 24-18. Despite the Huskies reeling off four straight points, the Dukes were able to close things out at 25-22 on a kill from Niski.

The Dukes were extremely stout defensively on the evening, racking up 10 blocks as a team and holding Northeastern (9-12, 1-6 CAA) to an attack percentage under .100 in all three sets.

Senior middle blocker Lizzy Briones (Siloam Springs, Ark./Siloam Springs) and redshirt freshman Conner Beightol (Richmond, Va./Deep Run) led the way with five blocks each, while junior libero MacKenzie Kleespies (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove) and freshman defensive specialist Taylor Austin (Ashburn, Va./Broad Run) tallied 25 digs and 17 digs, respectively.

"I was very excited about our defensive play tonight," Head Coach Lauren Steinbrecher said. "I thought our blocking and our back court play was very good; this was a great team win for us."

JMU is back in action tomorrow evening, as the Dukes play host to first-place Hofstra, winners of their last 10, in a 7 p.m. match