BOONE, N.C. (JMU Athletics) – James Madison fell in four sets (25-21, 23-25, 19-25, 23-25) to App State on Friday evening in its Sun Belt Conference volleyball opener.
JMU (7-6, 0-1 Sun Belt) got 22 kills from Kennedy Louisell, but hit just .187 as a team. App State (10-2, 1-0 SBC) had nine aces and eight blocks and won its third match in a row.
Louisell’s 22 kills came with nine digs as the junior finished with a hitting percentage of .375. Ana Toumazatos had 14 kills for her fifth straight match with 10 or more, while classmate Addie Norman added 10 kills.
Keionna Mackey recorded 15 kills to lead the Mountaineers, hitting .324 and adding three aces. Maya Winterhoff had 14 kills, while setter Addison Heidemann had 43 assists and nine digs.
How It Happened
First Set: James Madison 25-21
• JMU scored the first six points of the set and led 11-6 at the first timeout thanks to three kills from Norman.
• The Dukes’ lead grew to 17-8 on a block from Louisell and Nhial, but App State scored five in a row to force a JMU timeout with the score 17-13.
• Out of the timeout, JMU pushed the lead back to 19-13 on a kill from Louisell and an ace from Shelby Davis.
• The Mountaineers cut the Dukes’ advantage to three (23-20), but JMU held on for a win in the first.
Second Set: App State 25-23
• A kill from Winterhoff gave App State a 15-14 lead at the media timeout.
• Toumazatos evened the score at 15-15 with a kill, but the Mountaineers used a 5-1 run to force a pair of JMU timeouts.
• Out of the timeout, the Dukes scored five in a row to take a 21-20 lead on a kill from Melisa Ilter.
• A JMU service error and pair of kills from Ali Morris sparked a 5-2 run for the Mountaineers, propelling them to a set two victory.
Third Set: App State 25-19
• App State applied pressure early and took a 15-10 lead on a block from Bella Hutchens and Lou Johnson.
• The Mountaineers built their lead to 21-14 on an Ali Morris kill, but JMU scored four of five to make it 22-19.
• A kill and ace sandwiched between a JMU attacking error gave App State three straight points and the set three victory.
Fourth Set: App State 25-23
• The Mountaineers led 15-11 at the media timeout, capitalizing on five JMU errors.
• The Dukes fought back from multiple deficits, first scoring four straight to make it 16-16 and three straight to tie it at 22-22.
• App State closed out the match with kills from Keionna Mackey, Bella Hutchens, and MeMe Davis.
Match Notes
• JMU fell to 13-3 in conference openers under Head Coach Lauren Steinbrecher.
• Julia McNeley finished with 11 digs, her 11th match of the season with 10 or more.
• App State now leads JMU 9-7 in the all-time series and has won three straight.
• Louisell finished with 22 kills, her sixth of the season with 20-plus. In 13 matches, she has accumulated 254 kills at a clip of 5.18 per set.
Up Next
JMU and App State will conclude the opening weekend of conference play on Saturday, Sept. 27, at 1 p.m.
— JMU Athletics —
