Volleyball Drops Match to Ball State

Friday, September 6

Lexington, Ky.

4:30 p.m.

James Madison University

2-2,0-0Sun Belt

Ball State

3-1,0-0MAC

Ball St.

James Madison

9/6/2024 7:21:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The James Madison volleyball team fell 25-27, 27-25, 20-25, 25-17 to Ball State on Friday afternoon at Memorial Coliseum on the campus of Kentucky.

With the loss, JMU moved to 2-2 on the season while Ball State improved to 3-1. The Cardinals held the Dukes to a season-low .180 hitting percentage and finished with more kills (64-50) and digs (76-53).

Fifth-year senior Savanah Cockrill led all JMU players with 12 kills, while sophomores Olivia Vance and Melisa Ilter each registered nine. Annie Smith totaled six kills on 11 swings (.545) while also collecting four digs and seven blocks to lead the Dukes.

Ball State's Carson Tyler led all players with 21 kills at a .347 clip, while Sophie Ledbetter registered 27 digs.

How It Happened
First Set: Ball State 27-25

Sarah Schnell's third kill of the match gave the Dukes a 17-11 lead and forced a Ball State timeout.
The Cardinals cut the deficit to three (22-19), on Aniya Kennedy's third kill, which prompted a JMU timeout.
Ball State fought off four set points from the Dukes to tie the set at 24-24.
After a Rebecca Watkins dump set gave JMU a 25-24 lead, the Cardinals rattled off three straight points to take the first set.

Second Set: JMU 27-25

Ilter picked up her fourth kill of the match to put the Dukes ahead 6-2 and force a Ball State timeout.
The Cardinals fought back to take an 18-17 lead, but four of five points from JMU put the Dukes back out ahead 21-17 with Veldman's first kill of the match.
Ball State answered with a 7-2 run to take a 24-22 lead, forcing a JMU timeout.
JMU refused to quit, scoring five of six points, taking the second set on a solo block from Cockrill.
The Dukes hit .400 in the second set, collecting 14 kills on 30 swings and only two errors.

Third Set: Ball State 25-20

Ball State jumped ahead 9-3 in the third, aided by a service ace from Paige Busick.
The Cardinals continued to extend their lead, pushing the advantage to 17-10 on a block from Carson Tyler and Gwen Crull.
The Dukes got no closer than five (24-19) as BSU held on to take a 2-1 lead.

Fourth Set: Ball State 25-17

Ball State jumped ahead 17-10, but a 4-0 run from the Dukes, which included kills from Cockrill and Watkins – cut it to 17-14.
After JMU trimmed the deficit to three (18-15), the Cardinals scored six of the last seven points of the set to win the match.

Match Notes

JMU falls to 0-1 all-time against Ball State and has lost its last two matches to MAC foes.
Libero Jaydyn Clemmer finished with 17 digs, moving her career total to 1,074 – 10 away from tying Patti Bucaria for the 10^th-most in program history.
The .252 hitting percentage and 64 kills from Ball State are the most by a JMU opponent this season.
Ilter set a career-high with nine kills.
The Dukes tied a season-high 21 attacking errors.

Up Next
The Dukes will square off with No. 9 Kentucky tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. The match will be streamed on SEC Network+.