JMU Sweeps Delaware to Earn 14th Straight Win

Sunday, October 25

Harrisonburg, Va.

3 p.m.

James Madison University

21-3 (11-0)

Delaware

11-12 (3-7)

Delaware

James Madison

10/25/2015 6:06:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. – The James Madison volleyball team swept Delaware 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-22) in a Colonial Athletic Association faceoff on Sunday afternoon. The Dukes improved to 21-3 (11-0 CAA) while the Blue Hens fell to 11-12 (3-7 CAA).

Junior right side Janey Goodman led JMU with 15 kills and 11 digs to earn her 11^th double-double of the season. Senior setter Sarah Patterson dished 43 assists, averaging 14.3 per set. Defensively, sophomore libero Taylor Austin tabbed 17 digs and junior middle hitter Hanna Radhi racked up 5 blocks, both team-highs.

In set one, the Dukes jumped out to a five-point lead at the 10-5 mark. Madison maintained the lead throughout the set, capped by a four-point run starting at 22-16 to claim the set. Patterson had a remarkable 17 assists in the first set to guide the Dukes to a .515 hitting percentage.

Delaware started set two by winning six of the first eight points. JMU closed the gap to two points, eventually trailing 11-9. The Dukes went on a 8-1 run late in the set to take the lead for the first time at 18-17, with four different Dukes earning kills (Goodman, Robertson, Patterson, Niski). JMU won the set with six consecutive points to close out the frame.

Back-and-forth scoring kept set three close, with eight different ties leaving the two squads knotted at 10-10. JMU trailed through much of the middle of the set, but broke away from another tie at 20-20 with 5-3 run in the final points of the match, highlighted by three kills from Goodman.

Quoting Lauren Steinbrecher
"I was pleased with our team's performance today. Our senior captains Meghan Niski and Sarah Patterson did a great job leading our team to a win. Delaware pushed us and I was proud of the way responded."

Last Time It Happened
The last time the Dukes were 21-3 (.875) and 11-0 in conference was in 1999, when they advanced to the first round of the NCAA tournament and finished with a 26-7 record.

Madison is currently on a 14-match win streak that began with a 3-1 win over Georgetown on Friday Sept. 18 in the JMU Invitational. The last time JMU had a 14-match win streak was in 1987, when the Dukes won 14 straight beginning on Oct. 24 with a 3-0 win over Northeastern. That year, the Dukes finished 35-7 with a .833 winning percentage.

Dukes vs. Blue Hens At The Net
The Dukes hit .340 (49-13-106), while the Blue Hens hit .193 (36-15-109).

Up Next
James Madison returns to action Friday Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. to host UNCW. The Dukes recently won 3-1 against the Seahawks in Wilmington, N.C. on Oct. 18.