Dukes Sweep Charleston to Win 2017 CAA Championship

Saturday, November 18

Harrisonburg, Va.

4 p.m.

James Madison University

23-5

College of Charleston

27-5

James Madison

Coll. of Charleston

11/18/2017 7:08:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Photo Gallery @JMUVolleyball

HARRISONBURG, Va. – The James Madison volleyball team used an explosive offensive attack to sweep College of Charleston (25-21, 25-22, 25-17) and earn the 2017 Colonial Athletic Association Volleyball Championship inside Sinclair Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

JMU earned its second consecutive, and fifth overall, CAA title in program history. This is the second time in program history the Dukes have earned back-to-back titles, matching the 1999 and 2000 squads. The victory was the fifth straight by the Dukes and pushed their overall record to 23-5, the most wins by any JMU team since 1999.

For three straight years, the CAA title match has ended in three sets. This is the fourth time in the last 10 years that the No. 3 seed in the tournament has won the title. The Cougars were the regular-season champions and the top-seed in the tournament, falling to 27-5 overall.

MATCH NOTES

The Dukes were a force on the attack as junior Bryn Recker led all players with 19 kills on 39 attempts, only committing three errors to hit .410 for the match.
Middle blocker M'Kaela White contributed nine kills with no errors on 17 attempts to give the sophomore a .529 hitting percentage.
Taylor Gail followed a huge semifinals performance with seven kills on 13 attempts and no errors for a .538 clip in the championship match.
Senior defensive specialist Taylor Austin held down the backline with a match high 21 digs.
Sarah Martin and Tilbe Yaglioglu split the setting duties for the Dukes with 23 and 18, respectively.
The Dukes tallied 12.0 blocks to Charleston's 4.0, led by White, who tallied eight on the afternoon.
Three Cougars ended the match with double-digit kills, led by Devon Rachel with 14.

QUOTING COACH STEINBRECHER
"I could not be more proud of our team, they played so well and played together this afternoon. They all have worked so hard all year for this, so to see all the pieces come together this weekend really made it fun to watch. Tonight, we are just going to celebrate this win and hit the courts again tomorrow as we prepare for whomever we may face in the NCAA tournament in a few weeks."

ALL-CHAMPIONSHIP HONORS

With 26 kills and 19 blocks over three matches, sophomore M'Kaela White earned All-Championship team honors.
Leading the Dukes with 53 kills, averaging 4.82 per set, Bryn Recker joined White on the All-Championship squad.
Senior Taylor Austin was named the Most Valuable Player as the Ashburn, Va. product garnered 78 digs. Austin is the first libero to ever earn most outstanding player in a CAA tournament.

HIGHLIGHTS

UP NEXT
The 2017 Selection Show for the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship will air on ESPNU on Sunday, Nov. 26 at 9 p.m. The First and Seconds Rounds will be held at 16 non-predetermined campus sites over Nov. 30-Dec. 2.