Dukes Earn their way to Sun Belt Championship in Five-Set Bout

Saturday, November 19

Foley, Ala.

5:00 PM EST (4:00 PM CT)

James Madison University

23-4,15-1Sun Belt

Troy

18-12,11-5Sun Belt

Troy

James Madison

Dukes Earn their way to Sun Belt Championship in Five-Set Bout

11/19/2022 9:11:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

FOLEY, Ala. – Aces and Blocks boosted James Madison volleyball in its 3-2 win (22-25, 25-22, 26-24, 18-25, 15-12) against Troy to advance to the Sun Belt Championship final on Saturday in at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex.

The Dukes improved to 23-4 while the Trojans fell to 18-12.

Sophie Davis recorded her first double-double of the season with 20 kills and 10 blocks and a .528 hitting percentage. Miëtte Veldman followed with 13 kills and Cameryn Jones tallied five blocks. Hannah Roberts, Madilyn O'Toole, Julia McNeley, Davis and Veldman each served two aces and Grace Wenrich had one for a total of 11. Roberts also notched a career high 36 assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
The Dukes started off with a slight lead, but a 5-0 run from the Trojans gave them a 14-10 advantage. JMU responded with a 4-0 run of their own, but small two-point streaks from Troy gave them the edge to take the first set.

Second Set
The entire second set was back-and-forth with no team taking a strong lead. The set was tied 22-22 when a kill from Davis and a pair of blocks gave the Dukes a 25-22 win.

Third Set
Troy broke out with a 6-2 lead, but JMU filled the gap with a 5-1 run to tie the set 10-10. The Trojans took the lead again, up 23-20, but a 6-1 run with two kills and an ace from Davis gave the Dukes the advantage in the match.

Fourth Set
The Trojans broke out into another early lead and extended it even further to 18-11. JMU fought back, but Troy came up with the equalizer to take the match to a fifth set.

Fifth Set
JMU started off strong with a 5-2 lead. Attack errors hurt the Trojans, but they were able to tie the match 12-12. A pair blocks from Davis and Jones and a final ace from O'Toole secured the Dukes place in the championship match.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will face the winner of tonight's match between South Alabama and Texas State. In conference play, JMU swept South Alabama and split the weekend against the Bobcats. Sunday's championship match will be played at 2:00 pm ET and will be streamed on ESPN+.