Volleyball Cruises to Sweep over Marshall

Friday, November 3

Harrisonburg, Va.

6 p.m.

James Madison University

18-6,11-2Sun Belt

Marshall

12-15,4-9Sun Belt

Marshall

James Madison

11/3/2023 9:09:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison volleyball leaned on timely runs and strong defense in a three-set win over Marshall Friday evening at the Convocation Center.

The Dukes, now 18-6 (11-2 SBC), won by set scores of 25-18, 25-18 and 25-21, and held Marshall to a .119 hitting percentage. The loss dropped the Thundering Herd to 12-15 (4-9 SBC).

JMU hit .248, led by Miëtte Veldman's fourth straight double-double and ninth of the season (12 kills, 15 digs). Senior Elizabeth Helmich added nine kills, while classmate Sophie Davis tallied eight kills and a team-high eight blocks.

Marshall setter Brynn Brown led the Thundering Herd in kills (10) and assists (16), while Kylee Stokes finished with eight kills.

How It Happened
Set 1: JMU 25-18

JMU was the first to five on a Veldman kill (5-3) and used a 6-0 run to sprint to an 11-3 lead.
After Marshall scored two straight, four straight from JMU capped off by a Veldman ace extended the lead to 15-5.
The Herd cut the lead to six (24-18), but Davis capped off a dominant first set to give the Dukes a 1-0 set lead.

Set 2: JMU 25-18

As in the first, JMU seized momentum early in the second, going ahead 7-3 on another kill from Veldman.
Brown cut the deficit to three (10-7) but Marshall was unable to get any closer, as JMU led 15-11 at the media timeout.
The Herd trimmed the lead to three (19-16), but the Dukes closed out set two on a 6-1 run to go up 2-0 in the match.

Set 3: JMU 25-21

The Herd jumped ahead 5-3 on three consecutive kills from Lydia Montague, but JMU responded with a 3-0 run to take back a 6-5 lead.
The teams battled back and forth into the media timeout, with the Dukes holding a slim 15-14 lead.
With the set tied 16-16, five straight points from JMU propelled the Dukes to a 21-16 advantage.
After Marshall battled back and cut the Dukes' lead to two (23-21), a kill from Davis and a Herd hitting error gave JMU the sweep.

Match Notes

The win gave JMU a 12-1 record at home in the 2023 season.
The Dukes improved to 3-0 against Marshall as a Sun Belt opponent, and 11-5 overall.
Davis' three solo blocks moved her career total to 122, just nine away from tying Elizabeth Dean (131) for the most in school history. Additionally, her 427 block assists are seven away from tying Lizzy Briones (434) for the most in JMU history.

Up Next
The Dukes will wrap up the home portion of the 2023 season tomorrow at 1 p.m. against Marshall. The match will be available on ESPN+, with senior day festivities taking place afterward.