Dukes Close Historic Season With NCAA First-Round Loss To Coastal Carolina

Friday, December 2

Chapel Hill, N.C.

4:30 PM

James Madison University

21-11 (11-5CAA)

Coastal Carolina

28-4 (15-1Sun Belt)

James Madison

Coastal Carolina

Dukes Close Historic Season With NCAA First-Round Loss To Coastal Carolina

12/2/2016 8:49:00 PM | Volleyball

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Despite winning its first NCAA Tournament set in program history, James Madison volleyball dropped a five-set heartbreaker to Coastal Carolina (25-19, 18-25, 18-25, 25-17, 9-15) inside Carmichael Arena during Friday's NCAA First Round.

The Colonial Athletic Association regular-season and tournament champions closed the season 21-11. Coastal Carolina earned its19th consecutive victory, improving to 28-4, and advanced to the second round.

Right side hitter Janey Goodman dominated the attacking with a match-high 29 kills as the senior attacked at a .361 clip, committing only seven errors on 61 attempts. Goodman added four digs and two blocks. Sophomore Bryn Recker and redshirt freshman Kelly Vahos each finished in double-digits as the outside hitters chipped in 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Recker also garnered eight digs and six blocks.

Sophomore setter Tilbe Yaglioglu recorded her team-leading ninth double-double of the season garnering 34 assists and 13 digs, guiding the Dukes to a .248 hitting percentage as JMU outhit the Chanticleers, who finished with a .228 team clip.

The Dukes dominated at the net with 16.0 total team blocks, the most by JMU in five-set match this season, as the JMU attack limited the Chanticleers to 9.0 blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Taylor Gail turned in a season-best performance with her team-leading nine blocks. Junior defensive specialist Taylor Austin garnering a match-high 21 digs to round out the defense.

James Madison was unstoppable in the opening set, committing only one attacking error as the team hit at a .500 percentage in the set. Blocking was also key in the Dukes' 25-19 victory as JMU garnered 7.0 over the opening set.

The Chanticleers made adjustments in the second and third sets, attacking above .250 in both stanzas while the Coastal defense held JMU under .200 in both sets recording back-to-back victories to take a 2-1 advantage.

Coming out of the gate in a must-win fourth set, James Madison used an 8-2 run to notched a lead the Dukes would never give up as JMU forced a decisive fifth set. The Dukes tallied the first point of the final set but could not mount a rally as Coastal knocked off JMU 15-9.

QUOTING COACH STEINBRECHER
"I'm super proud of the team. This is a tremendous group of people, and they fought hard. I thought our leadership, obviously by our senior class, has been exceptional all year. I thought we competed to put ourselves in a position to win and just didn't execute in that fifth set. You always want to go down executing, but I'm proud of them. Coastal Carolina obviously is a very good team with really strong hitters. I thought their middle was exceptional tonight, unstoppable at times, so major kudos to those guys."

BLOCK PARTY ENDS OF HIGH NOTE
All season, the Dukes have been impressive at the net, out-blocking opponents in 27 of JMU's 32 matches; but during the postseason, James Madison has been phenomenal at the net. JMU has out-blocked opponents in all three postseason contests with a 41.0 to 15.0 mark. Taylor Gail led JMU with 19.0 blocks over the final three matches of the season.

"As middles, we do our best to make sure that we make our defensive players lives as easy as possible," senior middle blocker Kelly Robertson said about JMU's blocking attack this season. "It is truly playing for the other people on the court as well. Our middles this year have been more defensive than offensive, to say, but we really do what we can to make everybody else's job a lot easier. Not that they need it."

TWEET OF THE MATCH

21 wins, CAA reg. season & tourney titles, an NCAA set, ton of individual honors...WOW! Congrats @JMUVolleyball #DigTheDukes #SoProudOfYou
— James Hickey (@PressBoxGuy) December 3, 2016

HISTORIC PROGRAM FIRST
Tonight, James Madison accomplished a feat that no other team in program history had ever done. The Dukes notches their first set victory in the NCAA Tournament when JMU topped Coastal 25-19 in the first set. In JMU two previous NCAA Tournament trips, the Dukes have been swept by Penn State (2000) and San Diego State (1999).

"One of the hardest things is to do something for the first time," Steinbrecher said. "For them to have the belief and the work ethic to change the culture to accomplish the things we did this season, not only result-wise but the culture of the team and how much fun they were to coach and be around, truly speaks volumes about who they are as leaders, who they are as people, and who they are as players."

PHOTO OF THE MATCH - VIEW FULL GALLERY

Janey Goodman closed her career with 29 kills in her final match, ranking second all-time in program history in career kills.

THANK YOU SENIORS
Though they played their final game as Dukes, the JMU senior class left a mark and propelled the program to heights over their careers. "They have been tremendous no matter what their role is," Steinbrecher said of the senior group. "They've put the team first and given everything that they've had and I think that is why we have been so successful."

JMU's senior class complied a 73-46 record and brought home the program's first CAA Championship since 2000. Eight different program records feature a name of at least one member of the class and the group has helped coach Steinbrecher to 126 career victories to rank as the second-winningest coach in program history. The impact that JMU has had on the senior class cannot be measured in stats or figures.
"JMU has been absolutely huge for me," senior Kelly Robertson said. "At one point, I lost my love for the game and to be able to come back to a program and get it back is really big and really important. Janey (Goodman) and I both said on the way up here that we are not sad that we are not going to get to play college volleyball again but we are sad that we are leaving the people and the friendships."

Janey Goodman leaves her mark as one of the most prolific players in program history as she set three single-season records this season and ranks in the top 10 in six career records. Her legacy to the program doesn't compare to the gratitude she has for the opportunity. "It's something that I can't really put words to," Goodman said. "It's not even that (on the court play) I'll remember. It's the people that I've met, the relationships I've built playing side by side with some of the best people I've ever met. They motivated me. No matter what happens they always push me to be my very best. It has just been incredible; it's been a great ride."