Dukes Fall at Hofstra, 3-0

Thursday, November 13

Hempstead, N.Y.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

15-13, 7-8CAA

Hofstra

25-4, 12-2CAA

James Madison

Hofstra

11/13/2014 9:02:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - The James Madison volleyball team racked up 7.5 blocks as a team, but fell in three sets at Hofstra on Thursday evening, 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-17).

Senior middle blocker Lizzy Briones (Siloam Springs, Ark./Siloam Springs) paced the Dukes (15-13, 7-8 CAA) on the evening, tallying seven kills on a .316 attack percentage to go with a team-high three blocks. Sophomore outside hitters Kate Whitmire (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) and Janey Goodman (Powhatan, Va./Powhatan) both chipped in five kills to go with a pair of blocks.

Hofstra jumped out to 5-0 and 7-1 leads to start the opening set, putting the Dukes in an early hole. JMU would pull as close as four points on multiple occasions, but the Pride would continue expanding their lead, eventually taking the set at 25-12.

The second set was much more tightly-contested, as the squads combined for six ties in the early goings. JMU took the first advantage, scoring four straight points to take a 14-11 advantage. The Dukes would hold the lead, eventually going up 20-16 on two straight points, but a four-point Hofstra response would kickstart a 9-2 run for the Pride that wrapped up the frame at 25-22.

In the third set, the teams again battled back-and-forth, as neither team pulled ahead by more than two points until three straight Hofstra points put the Pride ahead, 17-14. Despite a point from the Dukes halting the run, the Pride would take the next five points to put the set out of reach and eventually clinch things at 25-17.

Defensively, every Duke that saw court time picked up at least one block, with the exception of junior libero Sierra Hahn-Ventrell (Chevy Chase, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase), who led the way with 10 digs for JMU.

The Dukes will be back in action when they wrap up their regular season with a match at Northeastern at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15. JMU is battling for seeding in next week's CAA Tournament and can still finish fifth or sixth in the standings.