Dukes Hold off William & Mary

Saturday, March 27

Harrisonburg, Va.

3 p.m.

James Madison University

6-2,5-1CAA

William & Mary

3-4,3-4CAA

William & Mary

JAMES MADISON

3/27/2021 7:38:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Harrisonburg, Va. – James Madison volleyball (6-2, 5-1) defeated conference foe William & Mary (3-4, 2-3) 3-1 on Saturday afternoon in Sinclair Gymnasium.

The Dukes were led by Miëtte Veldman with 14 kills on a .265 clip and three digs while Sophia Davis added 12 kills hitting .360 with six blocks, two being solos. Caroline Dozier recorded 30 assists for JMU along with seven digs and career-high of four service aces. Elizabeth Helmich made an impact in all areas for JMU with seven kills, six digs and five blocks. The team recorded a season-high of 13 blocks against the Tribe.

Set 1

JMU took an earlier 4-3 lead that was powered by two kills from Davis. Dozier took her turn to serve and recorded an ace to give JMU a 11-5 lead over the Tribe. The Dukes continued to go on a 8-0 run capitalizing on errors by William & Mary.

The Dukes increased their lead to 18-6 after Veldman recorded another ace, forcing the Tribe to take their second timeout. JMU kept the moment rolling as Davis recorded two more kills giving the Dukes a 23-9 lead. Cameryn Jones joined Davis for a block to push JMU to a 24-9 lead. The Tribe had an attacking error that gave JMU set point winning 25-9.

Veldman and Davis each recorded four kills, while Dozier recorded two service aces.

Set 2

Dozier opened the set with an ace, capturing her third of the match. The teams traded points back and forth becoming tied at 6-6. Davis delivered back-to-back kills helping JMU take the 8-6 lead over William & Mary.

The Tribe pushed back, taking a 12-9 lead. Savanah Cockrill help the Dukes regain control of service with a kill down the middle. Veldman followed with back-to-back kills tying the set at 12-12. William & Mary increased their lead to 20-16, but Davis answered by throwing the ball down the side of the court for a kill.

Helmich helped chip away at the Tribe's lead with her third kill of the set but it wasn't enough as William & Mary took the second set 25-21 to tie up the match, 1-1.

Set 3

Both teams came out ready to fight trading kills to keep the set tied at 5-5. JMU took off on a 5-0 run taking advantage of errors by the Tribe and kills from Veldman and Liv Crawley to make the score 12-7.

Later in the set the Dukes went on another small run with kills from Davis and Cockrill to increase their lead to 22-12. The Tribe fought back but were unable to tame Cockrill as she recorded two more kills to push JMU to the 25-15 set win and take a 2-1 lead in the match. Cockrill finished the set with three kills and two blocks, one being a solo.

Set 4

The teams fought back and forth keeping the match tied at 5-5 before the Tribe threw down three kills to take a 10-7 lead over JMU. The Dukes answered quickly with kills from Helmich and Crawley to take over the lead, 11-10.

Crawley recorded back-to-back kills to increase JMU's lead to 13-11. William & Mary capitalized on JMU's attacking errors to take back the lead forcing JMU to take a timeout at 19-17. Helmich recorded a key solo block for the Dukes tying the match at 19-19. Davis recorded a solo block and teamed up with Helmich for a block to push the Dukes' lead to 22-20.

Karis Beasley recorded an ace to get the Dukes to 24-22 and JMU secured set point off an error by the Tribe to win 25-22. JMU won the match 3-1.

Crawley led the Dukes with three kills, while Helmich recorded two kills and two blocks.

Up Next

James Madison will host William & Mary for the final match of the regular season on Sunday March 28 at 3 p.m. The Dukes will honor five seniors after the match.