Volleyball Repels Charleston, Advances to CAA Final

Saturday, November 17

Charleston, S.C.

4 PM

James Madison University

22-6

College of Charleston

21-11

Charleston

James Madison

11/17/2018 9:01:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score @JMUVolleyball Box Score

CHARLESTON, S.C. – James Madison volleyball will advance to the Colonial Athletic Association Championship match after downing College of Charleston, 3-1 (25-19, 28-26, 22-25, 27-25), in the semifinal round on Saturday evening.

The Dukes (22-6, 13-3 CAA) breezed through the first set before fighting to gain the second. The Cougars (21-11, 11-5 CAA) halted JMU in the third set before falling in the fourth set.

Junior Briley Brind'Amour led the Dukes with 17 kills while junior Sarah Martin led the match with 58 assists. Junior Sarah Driscoll had a team-high 20 digs and junior M'Kaela White posted a match-leading 11 blocks on the evening.

MATCH NOTES
- White achieved her first double-double of the season adding 14 kills to her career high-matching 11 blocks.
- Bryn Recker (15) and Kelly Vahos (10) also notched double-digit kills.
- Martin's 58 assists matched her career high.
- Taylor Gail and Martin were huge forces at the net, slating six and five blocks, respectively.
- Tilbe Yaglioglu and Savannah Marshall notched 12 digs apiece.
- With two service aces, Yaglioglu led the match.
- As a squad, the Dukes hit .350 in the final set to achieve the victory.
- JMU amassed 16 blocks to Charleston's nine.
- The Dukes stay undefeated in matches played on Saturdays during this season, with an 8-0 record and went 3-0 against Charleston in 2018.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Dukes came out the gate hot, taking a quick 11-2 advantage. Though Charleston was able to close the gap, they never reclaimed the lead giving JMU the early advantage in the match.
- With a six-point run near the start of the second set, JMU took a quick lead. Charleston kept pace with the Dukes and was able to pull into multiple ties as the end. While tied at 26-all, White tallied a kill then a block to seal the deal.
- No clear leader emerged in the third frame until the very end, when Charleston took the final three points to finish the set.
- Again, evenly matched, the Dukes finally gained some traction when they hit a five-point run that included two Brind'Amour kills, a White kill, a White/Vahos block and a Cougar attack error to jump ahead by three. JMU tied the match at 24-24, then won three of the final four rallies to take the win and advance.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will fight for their third consecutive CAA title in the championship match tomorrow at 1 p.m. against first-seeded Hofstra.