Career Performances Lift Dukes To Five-Set Victory Over Charleston

Thursday, November 3

Charleston, S.C.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

16-10, 8-5CAA

College of Charleston

15-10, 8-5CAA

James Madison

Col. of Charleston

Career Performances Lift Dukes To Five-Set Victory Over Charleston

11/3/2016 10:44:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score @JMUVolleyball Box Score 2016 Statistics 2016 Schedule/Results

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Multiple career highs were shattered at TD Arena Thursday evening as James Madison volleyball notched its fifth consecutive victory by topping the College of Charleston in a five-set thriller (21-25, 25-20, 26-24, 20-25, 15-12).

Topping Charleston for just the third time in program history, JMU improved to 16-10 overall and to 8-5 in Colonial Athletic Association play. Charleston stumbled to 15-10 with an 8-5 mark in league action. The two programs are now tied for third place in the conference standings with just three regular-season matches remaining.

Janey Goodman was unstoppable on the right side as the senior shattered her career high after tallying 33 kills on 74 swings for a .351 hitting percentage to average 6.60 kills per set. Senior outside hitter Kate Whitmire posted a season-best 14 kills, attacking at a team-high .387 percentage. Sophomore setter Tilbe Yaglioglu garnered 43 assists and 15 digs, both career bests, to record fifth double-double of the season to tie for the team lead in the category.

Defensively, JMU racked up 11 total blocks as JMU's middle blockers dominated the net. Senior Kelly Robertson racked up six blocks while Taylor Gail added five. Junior Taylor Austin racked up 30 or more digs for the second consecutive match as the libero tied her career-high with 34 against the Cougars.

Neither team managed to find an advantage of more than a couple points in the opening set as the squads tied on 13 separated occasions. With the match locked at 19-all, Charleston managed a 6-2 run to secure the first set victory of the match. On its first three swings of set two, JMU landed three kills to pull ahead early, 3-1. The Dukes led by as much as five with help from strong play from the middle blockers as Robertson garnered four kills and Gail two kills and a block in the set to help JMU to a 25-20 victory.

The Dukes trailed Charleston by as much as four midway through the third set before JMU used a 4-1 run to cut the Cougar lead to one, 20-19. After trading points and locking the set at 24-all, Goodman landed back-to-back kills to give JMU to victory and a 2-1 advantage in the match. Charleston evened the match after dominating the fourth set, 25-20, to force JMU to play five for just the second time this season.

Charleston and JMU traded points in a closely contested decisive set that featured seven ties. With the match knotted at 12-all, Whitmire recorded her 14^th kill of the night and Robertson and sophomore outside hitter Bryn Recker combined for a massive block before a Cougar attacking error secured the 15-12 victory in favor of the Dukes.

QUOTING COACH STEINBRECHER
"Charleston had a great crowd tonight and it was a fun match to play. I thought the level of play by both teams was impressive. I could not be more proud of these Dukes and how they stayed composed and executed. This is a fun team to coach."

RIGHT SIDE, STRONG SIDE
Janey Goodman continues to do Janey Goodman things over her impressive senior campaign as the Powhatan, Va. native recorded a new career-high 33 kills against the Cougars. It was the first time a Duke had tallied 30 or more kills since Goodman totaled 31 against Charleston at the CAA Tournament on Nov. 21, 2015. The right side hitter has tallied 440 kills thus far in 2016, the ninth-most in a single season at JMU, and also leads the league in points (5.30 per set) and kills (4.68 pet set). Her 4.68 kills per set average ranks as JMU's single-season record.

AUSTIN RISES UP THE CHARTS
Racking up 30 or more kills for the fifth time this season, Taylor Austin continues to rise up the JMU's single-season digs chart. Tying her career high with 34 against Charleston, the Ashburn, Va. native now ranks third on the list with 548 total digs after passing herself. Over the 2015 season, Austin tallied 525 digs. The libero now holds the fourth and third-best single-season dig marks in program history.

GAIL KNOCKING ON THE DOOR
With five blocks against the Cougars, sophomore Taylor Gail is inching towards a spot on JMU's single-season blocking charts. The middle blocker has racked up 99 block assists this season and is just four away from moving into 10th on the single-season chart. The Chesapeake, Va. native has garnered 112 total blocks this season and needs only 15 to move onto the single-season records.

CAA STANDINGS

	CAA RECORD	OVERALL RECORD
Northeastern	10-3	20-7
Hofstra	9-4	19-7
James Madison	8-5	16-10
Charleston	8-5	15-10
Towson	7-5	20-7
Delaware	5-7	11-14
UNCW	4-8	14-10
Elon	3-9	17-12
William & Mary	2-10	8-17

TWEET OF THE MATCH

good day to be a duke https://t.co/nzG9k9aeqR
— amy (@amygottschling) November 4, 2016

UP NEXT
The Dukes battle UNCW on Saturday, Nov. 5 in James Madison's final road contest of the regular season. First serve has been moved to 8 p.m. as UNCW is also slated to host a men's soccer CAA quarterfinal match on Saturday evening.