JMU Drops Five Set Battle at Northeastern

Thursday, November 5

Boston, Mass.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

21-6 (11-3CAA)

Northeastern

5-22 (2-10CAA)

James Madison

Northeastern

11/5/2015 9:53:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

BOSTON, Mass. – James Madison fell to Northeastern 3-2 (25-18, 20-25, 25-17, 15-8) in a five-set volleyball battle on Thursday night. This marks the third consecutive conference loss for the Dukes, who fell to 21-6 (11-3 CAA). The Huskies advance to 5-22 on the season and 2-10 in the CAA.

Northeastern jumped out to a 7-4 lead, blanking the Dukes in the first three points of set one. The Dukes rallied back, tying things at 17-17 late in the set. JMU took the lead for the first time on a four-point run at 21-17 and later claimed the set with another four-point run capped by an ace from freshman Bryn Recker.

After dropping set two, JMU took an early 3-1 lead in the third set. JMU broke away from a 7-7 tie with a four-point run led by freshman Jacqui Koebel, who recorded two aces. The Dukes maintained the advantage the rest of the set, taking a 2-1 lead in the match.

After an impressive 11 ties in the fourth set, the Huskies won the frame on a 7-1 run, forcing a decisive fifth set. Madison fought back from a 3-6 deficit early, but Northeastern seized the momentum, winning six straight points to claim the match.

Recker, junior Janey Goodman and senior Sarah Patterson led the Dukes, recording their fifth ,12^th and third double-doubles of the season, respectively. Recker tallied 17 kills and 10 digs, while Goodman had 13 kills and 15 digs. Patterson controlled the JMU offense with 49 assists and 11 digs on the evening.

Quoting Head Coach Lauren Steinbrecher
"Northeastern came out and played a great match. They fought for every point and they earned that win. We obviously have some work to do but we had some freshman step in and do a great job tonight."

Rising Up the Record Boards
With 11 digs on the night, sophomore libero Taylor Austin has a total of 473 on the season, the third-highest single-season total in JMU history. Austin passes Jena Pierson, who had 468 in 2005, and Patti Bucaria with 469 in 1995.

With 40 attack attempts against the Huskies, Janey Goodman moved into the JMU all-time season top-10 list with 1,093 attack attempts in 2015.

Freshman First
Freshman defensive specialist Jacqui Koebel earned her first career start and recorded a career-high five digs and two aces.

Freshman middle hitter Taylor Gail tied a career best with seven kills on a .417 hitting percentage (7-2-12).

Up Next
The Dukes return to action Saturday, Nov. 7, when they take on Hofstra in Hempstead, N.Y. at 7 p.m. The Dukes defeated Hofstra 3-2 after trailing 0-2 earlier in the season.