JMU Improves to 4-0 in CAA Play With Win at W&M

Sunday, October 4

Williamsburg, Va.

2 p.m.

James Madison University

14-3 (4-0CAA)

William & Mary

7-10 (1-3CAA)

James Madison

William & Mary

10/4/2015 4:49:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – James Madison defeated William & Mary (22-25, 25-15, 15-25, 25-13, 15-12) in a five-set conference battle on Sunday afternoon. The Dukes advance to 14-3 (4-0 CAA) on the season while the Tribe falls to 7-10 (1-3 CAA).

Junior Janey Goodman and senior Meghan Niski lead the Dukes, notching their seventh and third double-doubles of the season, respectively. Goodman recorded 19 kills and 11 digs, while Niski had 15 kills and 15 digs. Freshman Bryn Recker and sophomore Taylor Austin controlled the JMU defense with 17 digs a piece, a career-high for Recker.

William & Mary took the lead late in set one, taking four of the final five points. JMU answered back with a win in the second set, using a 9-1 run in the final 10 points to tie the match at 1-1. JMU and W&M were tied at 4-4 in set three, but the Tribe took the lead to 8-4 and maintained a lead for the rest of the set.

The Dukes shifted the momentum, keeping the Tribe off the board for the first six points of set four. Madison extended the lead to 14 points at the 20-6 mark and went on to win the set, 25-13, forcing a fifth set.

In the fight to 15, JMU battled back from a 4-1 deficit, winning eight of the next 11 points taking the lead 8-7. The Dukes kept the lead for the remainder of the frame to clinch the conference victory over the Tribe.

Quoting Lauren Steinbrecher
"Wow, what a close match. Hats off to William and Mary for putting us in a lot of positions that we didn't want to be in. I'm proud of our team for keeping their composure at the end of the match and fighting for that win."

Turning Point
Trailing 2-1, the Dukes turned the momentum early in set four, holding the Tribe scoreless for the first six points. Madison had another six-point run later in the set to make it 20-6, putting William & Mary out of reach and forcing a fifth set. In set five, W&M jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but JMU regained the lead after winning five points out of six to make it 10-8. A block by Hanna Radhi and Bryn Recker put the Dukes up 13-10 and JMU capitalized on two William & Mary errors to claim the fifth set and an important conference victory on the road.

Tweet of the Game

The point that sealed the win for @JMUVolleyball over William & Mary! #GoDukes pic.twitter.com/b8DBYIFGMn
— JMUSports (@JMUSports) October 4, 2015

Looking Ahead
The Dukes return to Harrisonburg to take on Northeastern Friday, October 9th at 7 p.m. in Godwin gym. Northeastern is currently 4-15 and 1-3 in conference play and coming off a two game losing streak including a 1-3 loss to William & Mary.