CONWAY, S.C. – Kennedy Louisell led a balanced James Madison attack, as the Dukes snapped Coastal Carolina's six-match win streak with a four-set triumph (25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 25-22) on Friday night at the HTC Center.
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Louisell had 16 kills to lead JMU (13-6, 6-1 Sun Belt) to its sixth straight win and move into a tie for first place in the Sun Belt East. Meanwhile, Coastal Carolina (14-5, 6-1 SBC) saw its six-match win streak come to an end.
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Freshman
Ana Toumazatos had 12 kills and hit .462, while
Anna Wilson tied a career-high 10 kills. The Dukes hit .306 as a team, marking their third straight match hitting .300 or higher and 10th time overall. Additionally,
Rebecca Watkins led JMU with 25 assists, while
Grace Wenrich tallied 23.
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Defensively, JMU had 10 blocks with
Melisa Ilter,
Ayen Nhial, and
Anna Wilson all finishing with four.
Julia McNeley had a season-high 23 digs, which also tied her career high.
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Jalyn Stout had a triple double with 16 kills, 24 assists, and 15 digs to lead Coastal Carolina. Emily Fowler recorded 13 kills, while Anzley Rinard had 12.
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How It Happened
First Set: James Madison 25-20
- JMU held a 15-13 lead at the media timeout as Ana Toumazatos picked up her third kill of the match.
- An ace from Anna Wilson put the Dukes ahead 19-16 and forced a timeout from Coastal.
- JMU pushed the lead to 21-16 and put away the Chanticleers in the first with kills from Louisell, Toumazatos, and Melisa Ilter.
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Second Set: Coastal Carolina 25-22
- JMU held a slim 15-14 lead at the media timeout and pushed ahead 18-17 on a kill from Toumazatos. However, a 6-0 run for the Chanticleers made JMU call a pair of timeouts and gave CCU control.
- The Dukes fought off a set point, but Coastal evened the match and took the set on a kill from Stout.
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Third Set: James Madison 25-22
- Four consecutive points, capped off with a kill from Wilson, gave JMU a 12-8 lead.
- The Dukes pushed ahead 15-11 at the media timeout on a kill from Nhial.
- An ace from Emily Fowler trimmed the JMU lead to one (18-17), but the Dukes scored four of five to swing ahead 22-18. Coastal got no closer than two points the rest of the way, as JMU went up 2-1.
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Fourth Set: James Madison 25-22
- A block from Ilter and Ayen Nhial gave the Dukes a 15-14 lead at the media timeout.
- JMU scored four of five points to extend its lead to 19-15 and force another timeout from the Chanticleers.
- A Louisell kill gave the Dukes a 23-19 lead, and JMU closed out the match on a Coastal Carolina attacking error.
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Match Notes
- JMU's win in the first set snapped an 18-set winning streak for Coastal dating back to Sept. 27.
- JMU won its third straight match against Coastal Carolina, improving to 7-4 against the Chanticleers.
- Louisell finished with 16 kills, bringing her season total to 387. She now sits 10th in the JMU single-season kills list, surpassing Emilee Hussack's mark of 385 in the 204 season.
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Up Next
JMU and Coastal Carolina will wrap up their two-match set tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
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