HARRISONBURG, Va. (JMU Athletics) – James Madison volleyball concluded its weekend with a four-set loss (28-26, 16-25, 28-30, 21-25) to Lehigh on Sunday afternoon inside the Convocation Center.
Kennedy Louisell led JMU (2-4) with 18 kills, but the Dukes could not slow down the balanced offense of Lehigh (4-2), who hit .329 and saw four players reach double-digit kills. The Mountain Hawks also tallied a season-high 14.0 blocks and held JMU to a .206 attack percentage.
Louisell tallied 12 digs, achieving her third double-double this season. Grace Wenrich led the Dukes with 24 assists and had 11 digs for a double-double. Ayen Nhial registered six blocks to lead JMU defensively.
Natalie Luscomb led the Mountain Hawks with 13 kills, while Ufuoma Omene, Mary Massiias, and Alysia Fingall all recorded 12. Sophie Bond, who was named the MVP of the LS&B Insurance Invitational All-Tournament Team, recorded 21 digs.
How It Happened
First Set: James Madison 28-26
• The score remained close through the media timeout, as a kill from Olivia Lasee gave the visitors a 15-14 lead.
• The visitors extended their lead to 19-16 on a kill from Luscomb, but JMU fought back to tie the score at 21-21.
• Lehigh gained a 26-25 lead on a solo block from McCartney, but rattled off three straight to rally and take the set.
Second Set: Lehigh 25-17
• Lehigh gained an early lead and held a six-point advantage (15-9) at the media timeout.
• The Dukes cut the deficit to five (17-12) on a kill from Nhial, but got no closer the rest of the way as Lehigh evened the match.
Third Set: Lehigh 30-28
• An ace from McNeley gave the Dukes a 15-14 lead at the media timeout, and another ace and kill from Melisa Ilter gave JMU a 17-15 lead.
• The teams traded points before Lehigh gained a 24-23 advantage for its first set point.
• JMU fought off three set points, but could not overcome a pair of kills from Massias and Fingall to fall in the third.
Fourth Set: Lehigh 25-21
• A kill from Omene gave the Mountain Hawks a 15-12 lead at the media timeout.
• JMU. Trimmed the deficit to one (17-16), but Lehigh scored five straight to put the set and match away.
Match Notes
• Through six matches, Louisell has totaled 122 kills at a clip of 5.30 per set while hitting .347.
• Nhial tied her career-high in kills (8) while hitting .667 with no errors on 12 swings.
• JMU lost to Lehigh for the first time since Oct. 17, 1986 and its now 8-2 against the Mountain Hawks.
LD&B Insurance Invitational All-Tournament Team
Erin McNair – Princeton
Taylor Clarke – Princeton
Kylie Van Hoy – Bellarmine
Kennedy Louisell – James Madison
Sophia Bond – Lehigh
Alysia Fingall – Lehigh
Up Next
James Madison will travel to Milwaukee, Wis., for matches against Milwaukee (Sept. 12), Marquette (Sept. 13), and Ball State (Sept. 14).
— JMU Athletics —
