Dukes Stumble To Tennessee In Straight Sets

Saturday, September 17

Washington, D.C.

10:30 a.m.

James Madison University

8-5

Tennessee

8-3

Tennessee

James Madison

9/17/2016 1:52:00 PM | Volleyball

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – James Madison volleyball (8-5) battled Tennessee closely in the opening sets, but the Volunteers (8-3) topped the Dukes in straight sets (18-25, 19-25, 13-25) at Charles E. Smith Center to close the George Washington Invitational.

Freshman outside hitter Briley Brind'Amour continued her breakout weekend, leading JMU with seven kills. Senior Janey Goodman and Kate Whitmire and sophomore Bryn Recker rounded out the Duke offense with five kills each. Sophomore setter Tilbe Yaglioglu garnered 12 assists.

The Tennessee defense held JMU to a .112 hitting percentage over the match as the Volunteer offense tallied 50 kills on a .388 clip in the sweep. At the net, the squads were even with four total team blocks. Sophomore middle block Taylor Gail lead the Dukes with three block assists. Junior libero Taylor Austin and Recker rounded out the Duke defense with 17 digs each, while freshman Sarah Driscoll chipped in 15.

With the opening set tied at 9-all, JMU went on a 4-0 run to pull ahead 13-9 and force a Tennessee timeout. The Dukes continued the pressure after the break, fusing four kills to help push a 17-14 lead over the Volunteers, but Tennessee close the matched on a 11-1 run to top JMU, 18-25.

James Madison pulled ahead early in the second set, leading 13-9 near the midway point. Again, Tennessee battled from behind to lock the match up at 16-all, before limited the Dukes to three additional points to take the set, 25-19. Tennessee secured the sweep with a 25-13 victory in the third set.

QOUTING COACH STEINBRECHER
"I thought Tennessee came out and played more consistently than we did this morning. Congrats to them for a great win. I was really pleased with Taylor Austin this weekend, and I thought a lot of different players had moments of greatness at this tournament."

KNOCKING ON THE TOP TEN
With a strong defensive performance, including double-digit digs in all three of the Dukes' matches at the George Washington Invitational, junior libero Austin is now just three digs shy from moving into the 10^th spot on JMU's all-time digs list.

UP NEXT
The Dukes return to Sinclair Gymnasium inside Godwin Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 21 in JMU's first Colonial Athletic Association contest as James Madison hosts William & Mary at 7 p.m.