Elon Volleyball Unable to Take Down JMU

HARRISONBURG, Va. – After claiming a win in the first set, the Elon volleyball team was not able to hold on to knock off league-leader James Madison, falling 3-1 (25-22, 13-25, 17-25, 14-25), tonight, Oct. 24, in Sinclair Gym.

The Phoenix (5-19, 1-9) saw 12 kills from Kam Terry who hit .370 in the match. Sydney Busa followed with nine kills and fell just short of a double-double with a team-high nine digs, while Sydel Curry finished with 36 assists.

“I like how aggressive we were right from the start of the first set against a very good JMU team,” said Elon head coach Mary Tendler. “To beat the top team in conference, we need to be much more consistent throughout the match.”

Janey Goodman tallied a match-high 18 kills, while Meghan Niski finished with 11 kills and 12 digs for a double-double for the Dukes (20-3, 10-0). JMU posted a 14-5 advantage in blocks with seven blocks from both Sarah Patterson and Hanna Radhi.

How it happened: Kills by Busa, Kayla Agae, Terry and Ally Karle and a block by Busa and Karle helped the Phoenix keep the first set even at eight-all before the Dukes took a four-point lead, 14-10. With JMU leading by five, 19-14, a Terry kill sparked an 8-2 Phoenix run to put the maroon and gold ahead, 22-21, and close out the set with a 25-22 win.

The Dukes rallied at the beginning of the second set to move out to a 13-4 advantage. A block by Curry and Karle and kills by Catherine Head and Ebony Scott helped close the gap to six, 14-8, before JMU took a 10-point edge, 18-8. The Phoenix was unable to make up the difference as the Dukes evened the match with a 25-13 final.

Kills by Terry, Busa, Curry and Scott put the Phoenix out to a 6-4 edge to start the third set. The Dukes then managed a 9-4 run to take the lead by three, 13-10. The maroon and gold would cut the deficit to two four times but it wasn’t enough as JMU claimed a 25-17 win.

With the fourth set tied at seven-all, the Dukes used a 10-3 run to take a 17-10 lead. A kill by Terry helped close the gap to five, 17-12, before three JMU points forced Elon to call its final timeout of the set with the Dukes leading 20-12. JMU finished out the match with a 25-14 set-win to take the 3-1 final.

Up next: Elon returns home to Alumni Gym to host a mid-week conference match against William & Mary on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m.