JMU Swept by Baylor in NCAA First Round

Thursday, November 30

Lexington, Ky.

4:30 p.m.

James Madison University

21-10,12-4Sun Belt

Baylor

17-12,10-8Big 12

Baylor

James Madison

11/30/2023 7:47:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

LEXINGTON, Ky. – James Madison volleyball was unable to keep up with Baylor, falling in straight sets (15-25, 19-25, 19-25) in the first round of the 2023 DI Women's Volleyball Championship on Thursday evening at Rupp Arena.

The Dukes finished the 2023 season with a 21-10 record, its second consecutive 20-win season and tournament berth. Baylor (17-12) hit a robust .422 and held JMU to .163, advancing to the Round of 32 to face the winner of No.8 Kentucky and Wofford.

Fifth-year senior Sophie Davis led JMU with nine kills while Miëtte Veldman added eight kills and five digs. Middle Savanah Cockrill picked up a season-high four kills, while Elizabeth Helmich finished with five kills of her own.

The duo of Elise McGhee and Manuela Bibinbe fueled Baylor to the three-set victory. McGhee, who was named First-Team All-Big 12, racked up 16 kills at a .519 clip and added five aces at the service line. Bibinbe pitched in 10 kills of her own on 15 attempts (.533), and Alicia Andrew fand Averi Carlson finished with four blocks apiece.

How It Happened
Set 1: Baylor 25-15

Strong serving gave Baylor a 12-6 lead early in the first, which forced a timeout from JMU.
Madilyn O'Toole picked up her team-leading 43rd service ace, cutting the Bears' lead to six (16-10).
A kill from Veldman trimmed the Baylor lead to five (19-14), but the Bears scored six of seven, enough to take the first set.

Set 2: Baylor 25-19

The Bears' momentum carried into the second, jumping ahead 8-2 on McGhee's second ace of the match.
JMU responded by rattling off four straight which was capped off by a block assist from Elizabeth Helmich and Alex Kwasnik.
Baylor continued to give the Dukes trouble at the service line, picking up their fourth ace of the contest and pushing their lead to 16-10.
While JMU fought off three straight set points from Baylor, the Dukes were not able to rally as the Bears took the second set.

Set 3: Baylor 25-19

Baylor gained control early, pulling ahead 12-3 on a termination from McGhee.
After the Bears lunged ahead 17-7, Julia McNeley capped off a 6-2 run for JMU with an ace, pulling to within six of Baylor (19-13).
With BU on the verge of the win, the Dukes fired off three straight points, but Baylor closed the door on JMU with kills from Riley Simpson and McGhee.

Quoting Head Coach Lauren Steinbrecher
"Baylor is an exceptional program and an exceptional team. So physical. They're incredible in the system with their speed and their power. We struggled with their jump top-spin serve, but they're just good in all aspects of the game so obviously applied a lot of pressure but super proud of our team and how they came out and competed. We tried to start to get them out of the system. I was proud of Savanah Cockrill that she did a good job on the outside. But Sophie (Davis) has carried us all year and did an exceptional job. I think when we're committed to a block, we have to find ways to terminate the score and block as well. We just couldn't get enough runs in and couldn't get enough points for it."

Match Notes

Davis leaves JMU as the school record holder in hitting percentage (.372), solo blocks (136), block assists (447), and total blocks (583).
Jaydyn Clemmer's season total of 475 digs ranks as the seventh most in JMU history, and her average of 4.06 per set is the 10th highest.
Setter Caroline Dozier picked up four assists vs. Baylor, wrapping up her career with 2,539 assists, the eighth-highest in a JMU career. Her career average of 7.38 assists/set also ranks ninth in JMU history.
Veldman's 427 kills (3.65 per set) in 2023 is the 10th-highest single-season total in JMU history, surpassing her 2022 total of 423.