Dukes Split First Day of JMU Invitational

Friday, August 30

Harrisonburg, Va.

10 a.m.

James Madison University

1-1

Washington State

1-0

Washington St.

James Madison

8/30/2019 11:24:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison volleyball split matches on opening day, falling in three sets (25-20, 25-13, 25-16) to No. 22 Washington State before earning its first win of the season with a three-set victory (25-23, 25-13, 25-22) over Stony Brook on Friday evening in Godwin Hall.

The Dukes open their 2019 campaign at 1-1 after day one of the JMU Invitational.

Freshman Sophia Davis led JMU's offense in her collegiate debut, racking up 21 kills after a career-high 14 against the Seawolves. Senior Briley Brind'Amour tacked on 17 kills, including a double-digit performance in the night match.

MATCH ONE NOTES
-Brind'Amour and Davis produced seven kills apiece against the Cougars while freshman Danielle Nathan added five in her first match wearing a JMU uniform.
-The Dukes edged the Cougars in blocks with seven and were led by senior M'Kaela White.
-Senior Sarah Martin had a double-digit in assists (19) and sophomore Savannah Marshall had a double-digit dig (10) performance.
-In the first set, JMU went on two 4-0 runs while serving to stay in the game, but fell 25-20.
-The Dukes tied set two at 7-7, but Washington State pulled away to win 25-13.
-With Martin serving, the Dukes took its first lead of the match at 8-7 in the third, but Washington closed the match with a 25-16 win.

MATCH TWO NOTES
-Davis and Brind'Amour tallied double-figure kills with 14 and 10, respectively, as White followed with eight.
-Martin totaled 35 assists and nearly had a double-double with nine digs.
-JMU's service was strong, tallying seven service aces and were led by Marshall.
-The Dukes combined for a .386 hitting percentage on the night.
-It was neck-and-neck in the first set, but Davis' six kills helped the Dukes edge the Seawolves, 25-23.
-White slammed home five kills in the second set while the Dukes used a .478 hitting percentage to power past Stony Brook, 25-13.
-Back-and-forth in the third set, the Dukes used a 7-0 run to capture a 25-22 win.

QUOTING COACH STEINBRECHER
"Washington State is a really good team and I thought they showed us a lot of things we need to work on. We were right there in the first set, but we need to clean up a few details and get more disciplined."

"Sophia was incredible – 14 kills on 17 swings – they had no answer for her. The match wasn't pretty, but I was proud of how our team came out and overcame adversity, especially in the third set. I thought we did a great job of getting them out of their system and our middles were incredible!"

UP NEXT
The Dukes will close out the JMU Invitational tomorrow night with a 7 p.m. match against Iowa. The match will be available to watch on MadiZONE.