Dukes Remain Perfect in Sun Belt, Sweep ODU

Saturday, October 7

Norfolk, Va.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

13-4,6-0Sun Belt

Old Dominion

9-11,1-5Sun Belt

James Madison

Old Dominion

10/7/2023 4:34:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. – James Madison volleyball used a balanced offensive effort to move to 6-0 in Sun Belt Conference play with a sweep of Old Dominion Saturday afternoon.

The Dukes won by set scores of 25-22, 25-15, and 25-18 and improved to 13-4 (6-0 SBC). With the loss, Old Dominion dropped to 9-11 and 1-5 against league competition.

Sophie Davis and Brenya Reid tied for 10 kills to pace the Dukes, with Miëtte Veldman adding nine of her own, while Elizabeth Helmich hit .500 (7-1-12). As a team, JMU hit .271 and held ODU to .095.

In her second game of the season, Caroline Dozier led the Dukes in assists (17) and tallied five digs. Fellow setter Rebecca Watkins added 14 assists and picked up a career-high four total blocks.

Myah Conway led the Monarch attack, finishing with a match-high 13 kills while also recording eight digs and three service aces.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1: JMU 25-22
ODU landed the first punch and took an 8-4 lead early in the first, but JMU quickly responded with a 4-0 run as a kill from Reid tied the set at eight. After the Monarchs scored four of five and edged ahead 12-9, six straight points from the Dukes swung the momentum of the set. Ahead 15-12, a kill from Helmich extended the lead to 18-14 and forced an ODU timeout. Out of the timeout, the Monarchs scored four straight which knotted the score at 18. A kill from Alex Kwasnik gave the Dukes side-out, and subsequent kills from Reid and Helmich pushed the lead to 21-19. With a slim 23-22 advantage, Veldman slammed the door on the Monarchs' in the first set with two straight kills, giving the Dukes the win.

Set 2: JMU 25-15
JMU immediately carried over its momentum into the second, as the visitors jumped out to a 4-2 lead with two more kills from Veldman. The advantage grew to 8-4 with a Helmich termination, and the Dukes forced an Old Dominion timeout as the lead expanded to 12-6 thanks to two kills from Reid, one from Davis and an ODU attacking error. After Veldman's seventh kill of the match extended the advantage to 15-8, the Monarchs cut the lead to 15-12 with four straight. However, the Dukes used a 4-0 run of its own to push the lead back to 19-12. JMU would cruise from there, as Reid gave the Dukes the 2-0 set lead.

Set 3: JMU 25-18
ODU used its strong back-row defense to grab a 6-3 lead in the early going. However, that edge would not last, as JMU took back the lead with a 5-0 spurt (10-7). The Monarchs quickly regained their footing, as a block capped off a 3-1 run and deadlocked the set at 11. The Dukes looked to Sophie Davis, as two kills from the fifth-year senior knotted the match at 13. After ODU made it 16 all, eight straight points from the Dukes gave the visitors a 24-16 lead, and Davis closed out the sweep with her 10th kill of the match.

Match Notes

With the win, the Dukes take a 2-0 lead over ODU in the 2023-24 TowneBank Royal Rivalry Challenge. JMU and ODU meet next on the women's soccer pitch on Sunday, Oct. 8 in Norfolk.
JMU finished with more kills (40-31), blocks (6-5), assists (37-31), and digs (39-35).
Sophie Davis recorded four total blocks, including one solo. Her career total of 110 is now two behind Karla Gessler (1997-00) for the second most in school history.
With three block assists, Davis additionally passed Kate Fuchs (402) for the fourth most in school history. Davis now sits at 404 assists in her career.

UP NEXT
The Dukes return home to the Convocation Center for a pair of matchups with Georgia State. Thursday's match will take place at 6 p.m., while Friday's is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday's match will be available on stream on ESPN+.