Volleyball Secures Weekend Opener in Five-Set Battle

Saturday, October 9

Elon, N.C.

2 p.m.

James Madison University

10-3,4-1CAA

Elon

10-7,5-2CAA

James Madison

Elon

10/9/2021 5:17:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

ELON, N.C. – James Madison Volleyball returned to action with a five-set (25-21, 25-15, 23-25, 24-26, 15-10) victory over Elon on Saturday.

JMU improved to 10-3 overall and 4-1 in league play, while Elon fell to 10-7 on the season and 5-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association

Sophomore Miëtte Veldman had a game-high and season-high 22 kills on a .367 hitting percentage, while juniors Sophia Davis and Chloe Wilmoth each added 14 kills. Junior Caroline Dozier set career highs with 55 assists and six total blocks for the match.

The Dukes have four five-set wins in their first five matches of CAA play, having played 24 of a possible 25 sets in league matches. JMU is 5-0 in five-set matches in 2021.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
Both sides had early scoring runs before the set tied at 11. From there, JMU won nine of the next 13 points to take a 20-15lead. Elon never pulled closer than three points, as the Dukes took the set 25-21.

Second Set
The Dukes served four of their nine aces during the second set and had four scoring runs of at least three straight points. After pulling ahead to a 19-14 lead, JMU won six of the next seven points to close the set at 25-15 and went up 2-0 in the match.

Third Set
The Dukes fought off an early lead from the home team and took an 11-10 lead, but Elon scored nine of 11 to go up 19-13. The Dukes closed to within a point at 22-21 and 24-23, but Elon was able to kill off the set on their third opportunity, winning 25-23.

Fourth Set
The fourth set had 14 ties and seven lead changes. With the set tied at 17, the Phoenix? took six of seven points to go up 23-18, before JMU responded by taking six of seven to tie the set at 24. Two kills gave Elon the set 26-24 and tied the match at two.

Fifth Set
After Elon went up 3-1, JMU scored seven straight points, with Davis recording two kills and two block assists in the run. The Phoenix closed to within 10-7, but Veldman finished off the match with two straight kills as the Dukes took the deciding set 15-10.

UP NEXT
The Dukes look to complete the weekend sweep against the Phoenix and improve their league record to 5-1 on Sunday, Oct. 10. First serve is a 2 p.m ET and streaming is available through FloSports.