JMU Rallies for Five-Set Win Over Old Dominion

Friday, November 8

Harrisonburg, Va.

6 p.m.

James Madison University

11-13,6-8Sun Belt

Old Dominion

16-9,5-7Sun Belt

Old Dominion

James Madison

11/8/2024 9:52:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison volleyball rallied from a 2-1 set deficit to take down Old Dominion 25-17, 15-25, 24-26, 25-18, 15-12 on Friday evening inside the Convocation Center.

JMU improved to 11-13 and 6-8 in Sun Belt play, while Old Dominion fell to 16-9 and 5-7 in league play.

Annie Smith tied a career-high 17 kills at a .607 hitting percentage, finishing with zero errors on 28 swings while adding six blocks. Miëtte Veldman had 13 kills, seven digs, and five blocks while Julia McNeley finished with a match-leading 17 digs.

Two ODU players finished with double-doubles, as Bryanna Jones picked up 24 kills and 13 digs and Elisa Maggi had 17 kills and 13 digs. Ashlynn Belcher led the Monarchs with 56 assists.

How It Happened
First Set: James Madison 25-17

JMU rattled off three straight points to force the first timeout of the set at 12-10.
A dump set from Rebecca Watkins gave the Dukes a 21-17 lead as the Monarchs called another timeout.
Old Dominion could not slow down JMU as the Dukes ended the set on a 5-0 run to go ahead 1-0.

Second Set: Old Dominion 25-15

ODU scored on three consecutive rallies to give the visitors an 11-7 lead as the Dukes called a timeout.
The Monarchs flipped the script and jumped ahead 13-12 on a kill from Jones and extended their lead to 19-14 on a Veldman attacking error.
A kill from Brenya Reid trimmed the Monarchs' lead to 19-15, but ODU scored six straight points to take the set 25-15.

Third Set: Old Dominion 26-24

The Monarchs scored six straight and went ahead 8-6 as JMU called a timeout.
ODU led 14-10 but the Dukes tied the score at 16-16, and a pair of aces from Watkins gave JMU an 18-16 lead.
The Dukes reached set point on an Old Dominion attacking error,

Fourth Set: James Madison 25-18

JMU took a 10-6 lead as ODU called a timeout early in the fourth.
Smith gave the Dukes a 22-15 lead on a kill from Smith, but a pair of Monarch points trimmed the lead to 22-17.
Watkins served an ace to force a fifth set for the second straight day.

Fifth Set: James Madison 15-12

An ace from Smith gave JMU a 7-2 lead in the fifth, and a Myah Conway service error gave the Dukes an 8-4 lead when the teams switched sides.
Smith and Veldman combined for a block to give the Dukes a 12-8 lead and they both picked up kills to extend the JMU lead to 14-11.
An ODU service error gave the Dukes the five-set win.

Match Notes

With the win, JMU clinched a spot in the 10-team Sun Belt Tournament (Nov. 21-24) in Foley, Ala.
The win improves JMU's record to 4-5 in five-set matches this season.
JMU evened the TowneBank Royal Rivalry Challenge at 3.0-3.0 with tonight's win.
Reid finished with 14 kills, the 13th consecutive match the junior has recorded double-digit kills.

Up Next
The Dukes will travel to the Lonestar State to battle Texas State on Nov. 14-15.