Dukes Drop Five-Set Thriller to Coastal

Saturday, October 21

Conway, S.C.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

15-6,8-2Sun Belt

Coastal Carolina

15-7,10-0Sun Belt

James Madison

Coastal Carolina

10/21/2023 4:49:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

CONWAY, S.C. – James Madison volleyball dropped its second straight match, falling in five sets to Coastal Carolina Saturday afternoon.

JMU fell to 15-6 overall and 8-2 in Sun Belt Conference play, while Coastal moved to 15-7 overall and an unblemished 10-0 against league competition. The Chanticleers won by set scores of 20-25, 25-19, 26-24, 25-27, and 15-8.

In the five-set marathon, Sophie Davis led the Dukes with 22 kills – which tied her career-high – along with eight blocks. Overall, four Dukes finished with double-digit kills, as Miëtte Veldman (20), Brenya Reid (14) and Elizabeth Helmich (10) paced a Dukes' attack that hit .246.

On the defensive side, Jaydyn Clemmer led the Dukes with 25 digs, which also tied a career-high. Along with her 20 kills, Veldman's 15 digs marked her sixth double-double of the season, while Madilyn O'Toole tied her career high of 17 digs.

Despite holding Coastal to a .239 hitting percentage, Jasmine Rivest racked up 21 kills while Jalyn Stout picked up a triple-double with 25 assists, 12 digs, and 11 kills.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1: JMU 25-20

The two teams battled back and forth early, as Reid's fourth kill gave the Dukes an 11-10 edge.
Thanks to a kill from Jalyn Stout, Coastal built a two-point lead (15-13) at the media timeout.
Two kills apiece from Helmich and Reid sparked a 4-0 run, giving the Dukes a 17-15 lead.
JMU continued to build its advantage, pulling ahead 23-19 on a CCU attacking error.
A solo block from Davis and another Coastal attacking error gave the Dukes the set-one victory.

Set 2: Coastal 25-19

Five straight points from Coastal gave the Chanticleers a 9-5 lead early in the second.
Coastal extended its advantage to six, 13-7, forcing a JMU timeout with consecutive blocks from Rivest and Valentina Varani.
With Coastal ahead 20-13, a 3-0 run from JMU capped off with Reid's eighth kill trimmed the deficit to four (20-16), forcing a CCU timeout.
JMU got no closer than four (22-18) as Coastal tied the match at one set apiece.

Set 3: Coastal 26-24

After JMU gained the early 4-3 edge, Coastal scored six of the next seven points and regained a 9-5 advantage.
Reid brought the Dukes to within one (9-8) on a kill, but Coastal scored four of five and pushed its advantage to 13-9.
A Clemmer ace cut the deficit to one (17-16), but Coastal responded with two straight to make it 19-16.
Four straight points, capped off by Reid's 12th kill of the match, gave the Dukes its first lead of the set at 20-19.
A service ace from Julia McNeley put the Dukes up 23-21, but Coastal tied the score at 23 and closed the set on a 3-0 run and gave CCU a 2-1 advantage in the match.

Set 4: JMU 27-25

Needing a set victory to force a fifth set, JMU jumped ahead 4-0 on consecutive kills from Davis.
JMU led by seven late in the set (19-12) before Coastal scored four straight to trail by three.
The Dukes reached set point at 24-21, however, CCU scored three straight and tied the set at 24.
After trading points, a kill from Reid and a CCU attacking error forced a winner-take-all fifth set.

Set 5: Coastal 15-8

It was all Chanticleers from the jump, as the home team opened with a 9-3 lead.
The lead grew to as many as eight (13-5), and CCU closed out the five-set victory with a kill from Jasmine Rivest.

UP NEXT
JMU returns home for a pair of matchups with Georgia Southern. Thursday's match will take place at 6 p.m., while Friday's match will be at 5 p.m., with both available to listen on the Varsity Sports Network app.