College of Charleston
JMU
VOLLEYBALL EARNS BIG ROAD WIN, DOWNS JMU IN FOUR
10/5/2014 8:22:00 PM | Volleyball
HARRISONBURG, Va. – College of Charleston volleyball earned a big conference road win on Sunday afternoon, downing the James Madison Dukes, 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-17) in front of a hostile crowd at the Sinclair Gymnasium.
Senior right-side hitter Sloane White showed why she was a preseason all-conference selection, throwing down 18 kills against an athletic Dukes' team picked to finish second in the conference in the CAA preseason coaches' poll. Joining White in the attack was junior team captain Melissa Morello and recent CAA Offensive Player of the Week Cara Howley – both of whom registered 14 kills on the night. Senior libero Andi Zbojniewicz put in another standout defensive display, digging up 21 balls, while Krissy Mummey racked up her 78th, 79th, 80th and 81st blocks of the season.
Playing against one of the best attacks in the league, the Cougars (12-7, 4-0 CAA) did well to outhit the Dukes, .253 to .193 and held preseason all-conference honoree Janey Goodman to a paltry .098 hitting percentage.
After dropping the first set for the second time in as many games, 25-22, the Cougars rebounded quickly in the second set, taking a 4-0 lead. Hitting at a high clip and displaying their athleticism along the back row, the Cougars extended the advantage to 10-3 after a JMU defensive error. The Cougars would go up by as many as 10 at 17-7 following a kill from Howley, and despite the Dukes mounting a comeback at 22-20, three straight kills from White and Morello were enough to see out the game in the Cougars favor, 25-20.
The College again jumped out to an early lead in the third game, after a Goodman attack error gave the Cougars an 8-3 lead. CofC kept the pressure on throughout the frame, fighting off a couple of mini-runs from the Dukes to extend their lead to 18-11 following a thunderous kill from White. JMU closed the gap to 20-19, forcing head coach Jason Kepner to call timeout, but the Cougars emerged from the huddle reinvigorated, tallying five of the next six points to take game three, 25-21.
In the fourth frame, with the Cougars looking to close out the match and the Dukes desperate to forth a fifth game, CofC again jumped out to an early advantage, taking an 11-4 lead on a huge kill from sophomore middle blocker Maddie Hills. A kill from JMU's Meghan Niski cut the Dukes' deficit to 3, at 17-14, but that was as close as the home-side would come as the Cougars showed their mettle, dominating play late and eventually claiming the game and the match, 25-17.
After a weekend on the road, the Cougars will now look forward to a Friday night home clash with Hofstra at TD Arena, where first serve is set for 7:00 p.m.
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