Dukes Undefeated After Day One of Dog Pound Challenge

Friday, September 4

Storrs, Conn.

10 a.m.

James Madison University

UMBC

9/4/2015 8:15:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

STORRS, Conn. – James Madison ended day one of the Dog Pound Challenge undefeated with a 3-2 (25-21, 19-25, 25-13, 23-25, 15-7) win over UMBC and a 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-12) win over Bryant.

JMU's victory over Bryant marks the third sweep of the season. Scoring was distributed across the board for the Dukes, with freshman Bryn Recker and junior Janey Goodman tallying a team high nine kills, followed by senior Meghan Niski who had eight. Freshman middle Taylor Gail had a breakout performance tabbing six blocks along with three kills.

James Madison outhit Bryant in team hitting percentage by a .235-.026 margin. Bryant fell to 2-2 on the season after the first day of the Dog Pound Challenge tournament.

In the first match of the day, Recker had a career high 21 kills to pace the offense for the Dukes. Senior setter Sarah Patterson had 43 assists in the match, while sophomore libero Taylor Austin had 29 digs.

The match marked only the second time the Dukes have been forced to play five sets this season, giving them a 2-0 record in five-set matches. With the victory, JMU advanced to 5-1 on the season while the Retrievers fell to 2-2. James Madison leads the all-time series with UMBC 9-3 with tonight's win.

Looking Ahead
The Dukes take on host Connecticut at 1 p.m. tomorrow in the final match of the Dog Pound Challenge. The Huskies lead the all-time series 3-2 with 2007 being the last time the two teams met.

Quoting Coach
"We showed a lot of composure beating a strong UMBC team," Head Coach Lauren Steinbrecher said. "It was a true team win with a lot of players contributing to the success. I thought we played a disciplined and smart match against Bryant as we work to continue to improve every opportunity we have."

Noteworthy
Today's two wins mark the first time the Dukes have gone 5-1 in the opening six matches since 2005. In that year, JMU defeated George Washington, Denver, Bowling Green and Northeastern with the one loss coming from the College of Charleston in four sets.

Dog Pound Classic Updates
JMU – 3 UMBC – 2 (25-21, 19-25, 25-13, 23-25, 15-7)
UConn – 3 Bryant – 1 (25-27, 25-14, 25-18, 25-15)
JMU – 3 Bryant – 0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-12)
Saturday Sept. 5
UMBC vs. Bryant 11 a.m.
JMU vs. UConn 1 p.m.