MILWAUKEE, Wis. (JMU Athletics) – James Madison rallied from a 2-0 deficit to upend Ball State volleyball 21-25, 19-25, 27-25, 25-14, 15-9 on Sunday afternoon at Al McGuire Arena.
Down 2-0 and facing match point in the third, JMU (4-5) fought off two match points from Ball State (4-5) to take the set and went on to dominate the fourth and fifth. The Dukes hit a season-high .354 and completed their first reverse sweep since 2021.
Kennedy Louisell was the star again, racking up 28 kills and hitting .387 (28-4-62). Ana Toumazatos tied her career-high 17 kills, while setter Grace Wenrich tallied a career-high 35 assists to guide the offense.
Defensively, Julia McNeley picked up a season-high 21 digs, while middles Anna Wilson and Ayen Nhial led the Dukes with five blocks each. Wilson also matched her career-high in kills with nine, which she also tallied on Friday.
Carson Tyler led Ball State with 26 kills and a .345 hitting percentage, tallying a double-double with 18 digs. Setter Lindsey Green recorded 51 assists to lead the offense, while Noelle VanOort (16) and Camryn Wise (12) also had 10-plus kills.
How It Happened
First Set: Ball State 25-21
• Toumazatos’ fourth kill of the set gave JMU a 16-14 lead, but Ball State responded with a 4-0 run to force a Dukes’ timeout.
• JMU responded with three straight points to take a 19-18 lead on a kill from Louisell.
• The Dukes tied the set at 20-20, but the Cardinals reeled off five of the next six points to pull away and take the first.
Second Set: Ball State 25-19
• Ball State jumped out to a three-point lead at 12-9, punctuated by a kill from Noelle VanOort.
• The Cardinals extended their lead to 21-13, which prompted another JMU timeout.
• A late 3-0 run for JMU was not enough as Ball State went ahead 2-0.
Third Set: James Madison 27-25
• Toumazatos picked up her 11th kill of the match to give the Dukes a 9-4 lead.
• Ball State took a timeout as another kill from Toumazatos gave JMU a 16-9 advantage.
• The Dukes led 19-14, but five straight points from Ball State tied the score at 19-19.
• JMU fought off two match points and scored the final three points of the set, rallying from a 25-24 deficit to get on the board.
Fourth Set: James Madison 25-14
• JMU carried its momentum over from the third, jumping out 12-3. An ace from Watkins made Ball State burn its second and final timeout of the set.
• The Dukes cruised to a victory in the fourth and forced a decisive fifth.
Fifth Set: James Madison 15-9
• JMU scored the first three points of the set, capped off by a block from Wilson and Sarah Schnell.
• Ball State trimmed the deficit to one (5-4), but the Dukes answered back with two straight.
• Up 11-8, a 3-0 run from JMU put the set away as the Dukes secured the five-set win.
Match Notes
• JMU won its first five-set of the season and first since Nov. 8, 2024, against Old Dominion.
• JMU’s reverse sweep was its first since Aug. 27, 2021, against High Point.
• Sydney Lewis finished with a season-high 15 digs, bringing her career total to 1,011.
• Louisell finished with 28 kills and now has 182 in the 2025 season. In 2024 at High Point, Louisell finished the season with 194 kills.
Up Next
James Madison returns to Harrisonburg to host the Erie Insurance Invitational, set for Sept. 19-21.
— JMU Athletics —
