HARRISONBURG, Va. – Alex Kwasnik racked up a career-high 10 kills as James Madison volleyball improved to 3-0 in Sun Belt Conference play with a sweep of Texas State Thursday evening.

The Dukes (10-4, 3-0 SBC) picked up its third straight win by scores of 25-19, 25-19 and 25-23. With the loss, Texas State dropped to 9-5 overall with a 2-1 mark against league competition.

Kwasnik (10-2-17) and Sophie Davis (13-1-25) paced the Dukes’ offense in the victory. Davis, the JMU all-time leader in total blocks, added to her total with five blocks along with her team-leading 13 kills. Brenya Reid and Miëtte Veldman each chipped in with eight kills.

As a team, JMU hit .220 compared to .142 for Texas State. Through three Sun Belt contests, the Dukes have held opponents to a combined .137 hitting percentage.

Julia McNeley and Jaydyn Clemmer were all over the court, as the duo both tallied season highs in digs. McNeley’s 16 were a career-high, while Clemmer finished with 19.

Texas State was paced by K.J. Johnson, who finished with 13 kills and five digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1: JMU 25-19
It was a back-and-forth affair in the early going as a block from Davis and Elizabeth Helmich knotted the score at six. However, the Dukes took control of the set thanks to a six-point run from Madilyn O’Toole at the service line. With JMU leading 12-6, the Bobcats responded with two straight points, but the Dukes piled on with an 8-1 run, which ballooned the JMU advantage to 20-9. After the Dukes got to set point (24-13), the Bobcats fired off eight of nine and closed the gap to 24-19. However, JMU was able to close out the first set with a kill from Reid.

Set 2: JMU 25-19
Long, hard-fought rallies were the theme early in the second set, as both teams struggled to get a foothold. After the Bobcats jumped ahead 8-5, consecutive kills from Kwasnik, Davis and Reid tied the score at eight apiece. The set stayed competitive through the media timeout, as a Veldman kill gave the Dukes a slim 15-14 lead. Two Texas State errors out of the timeout and a Helmich kill grew the advantage to 18-14, but the Bobcats wouldn’t back down. They scored four of the next five, which tightened the set 19-18. In what has been the theme all season, the Dukes closed the set strong, as they used a 6-1 run to finish off Texas State and took a commanding 2-0 set lead.

Set 3: JMU 25-23
The Bobcats refused to go away, as the visitors jumped ahead early 5-3 on a kill from Bailey Hanner. However, it wouldn’t be long before the Dukes took over, as the home team used a 9-2 surge to take a 12-7 lead, capped off by a solo block from Davis. JMU held onto its lead into the media timeout (15-12), but the Bobcats continued to fight all the way to the end. Davis’ 13th kill gave the Dukes a 22-19 edge, and while Texas State cut the deficit to one (24-23), Reid notched her eighth kill of the match, which gave the Dukes its third straight win to open conference play.

UP NEXT
The Dukes and Bobcats square off tomorrow at 6 p.m. in the second game of their doubleheader.

— JMU Athletics —