ATLANTA – Junior
Brenya Reid finished with 25 kills and 16 digs for her second career double-double, powering the James Madison volleyball team to a four-set win over Georgia State on Saturday afternoon at the GSU Sports Arena.
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Reid's 25 kills came at a .344 clip (25-4-61) as JMU snapped a five-match losing streak and improved to 6-8 and 1-3 in Sun Belt Conference action. Georgia State slipped to 10-6 and 1-3 in league play.
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Annie Smith finished with 14 kills at an efficient .700 percentage with zero errors, the second match in a row the senior has recorded double-digit kills. The freshmen duo of
Sarah Schnell and
Ayen Nhial assisted on 12 of JMU's 13 total blocks, while classmate
Jordan Smart registered a career-high 36 assists.
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Three Georgia State players finished with 10 kills or more, led by Alessia Cappai (16), who also picked up 15 digs.
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How It Happened
First Set: James Madison 28-26
- Reid picked up seven kills in the first set to help the Dukes hit .485 with 17 kills.
- JMU jumped ahead 8-5, aided by early kills from Reid and Olivia Vance.
- The lead swelled to 17-13 before Georgia State scored four straight to tie it at 17-17.
- The Panthers reached 24 points first, but Nhial and Schnell combined for a block to even the score at 25-25.
- GSU took a 26-25 lead on a kill from Shanelle Martinez but kills from Reid and Smith helped JMU edge the Panthers in the first.
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Second Set: Georgia State 35-33
- JMU called a timeout as the Panthers went ahead 15-13.
- A service ace from Julia McNeley gave the Dukes a 21-19 lead, and JMU moved ahead 24-23 on a kill from Smith.
- JMU had multiple set points but could not put away the Panthers, who prevailed 35-33.
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Third Set: James Madison 25-21
- A kill from Reid forced a Georgia State timeout, with the Dukes holding a four-point (17-13) lead.
- The Panthers fought back and only trailed by one (20-19) on a kill from Cappai.
- The Dukes never trailed, and Reid finished off the set for JMU.
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Fourth Set: James Madison 25-18
- The visiting Dukes jumped on GSU early, going ahead 8-2 on a service ace from Madilyn O'Toole.
- The Panthers trimmed the deficit to 13-10 before JMU called a timeout.
- Another kill from Reid forced a Georgia State timeout as the Dukes pushed their lead to 21-15.
- A GSU service error gave JMU its first win in six tries.
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Match Notes
- JMU improves to 16-6 against Georgia State.
- The win marks James Madison's first true road win since Oct. 7, 2023, at Old Dominion.
- The Dukes finished with 13 total blocks, the eighth time JMU has finished with double-digit blocks in 2024.
- Julia McNeley recorded 12 digs, marking the third consecutive match she has picked up 10 digs or more.
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Up Next
JMU will stay on the road as it travels to Huntington, W.Va., for a pair of matches against Marshall on Oct. 11-12.
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