HARRISONBURG, Va. – Behind a stout defense and clutch hitting, James Madison volleyball prevailed against UMBC in four sets in the final game of the LD&B Insurance Invitational Sunday afternoon.

The Dukes triumphed by scores of 25-21, 18-25, 25-22, and 25-20. With the win, JMU moved to 2-1, while UMBC fell to 1-2.

JMU outhit UMBC .333-.230, thanks to 16 total blocks from the home team. Senior Alex Kwasnik finished with seven blocks, while senior Sophie Davis finished with six. Davis also tallied 12 kills, which paced the Dukes, along with senior Miëtte Veldman.

Senior Elizabeth Helmich finished with 10 kills and four blocks, while Junior Jadyn Clemmer led JMU with 11 digs.

The Retrievers were led by Kamani Conteh, whose 18 kills led all players in the match, while Mia Bilusic finished with 17 kills.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set – JMU 25-20
JMU jumped out to a 3-0 advantage thanks to two service aces from Madilyn O’Toole. UMBC pulled to within one at 7-8 with an Aysia Miller kill, but back-to-back kills from Helmich and Olivia Vance increased JMU’s lead to 10-7. The Retrievers battled back to make it 14-15, the Dukes were able to pull away in the set, highlighted by a double block from Rebecca Watkins and Helmich to close the set.

Second Set – UMBC 25-18
UMBC flipped the script in the second set, as the visitors opened the set with a 6-3 lead, aided by two kills from Bilusic and one from Miller. The Dukes immediately responded with a run of their own, as a Watkins ace tied the set at seven. After that, it was all Retrievers, as an extended 12-5 opened up their lead to 19-12. The visitors held onto the lead to take the second set.

Third Set – JMU 25-22
UMBC carried their momentum in the third set, as the Retrievers shot out of the gate with an 8-3 advantage. Despite the deficit, the Dukes used strong defense to claw back into the set. Back-to-back blocks from Davis and an attacking error tied the set at 11-all. The two teams remained deadlocked all the way to 22-22, before JMU closed out the set with a 3-0 run. A double-block from Veldman and Kwasik and a solo block from Veldman pushed the Dukes to a win in the third set.

Fourth Set – JMU 25-20
JMU seized momentum into the fourth, as a Helmich termination opened up a quick 4-1 lead. Veldman continued to dominate, as she tallied three kills in four points to help the Dukes’ lead grow to 11-7. After a pair of aces from Veldman opened the JMU lead to 14-9, the Dukes continued to pull away. After UMBC pulled back to within two (17-19), the home team immediately responded with kills from Davis and Watkins to pull back ahead 21-17, and closed things out from that point forward.

LD&B INSURANCE INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Ohio: Sam Steele (MVP), Caitlin O’Farrell
HPU: Dylan Maberry
UMBC: Aysia Miller
JMU: Jaydyn Clemmer, Sophia Davis

UP NEXT
The Dukes travel to University Park, Pa., next weekend to face a trio of teams. To open the weekend, JMU will take on Colgate on Friday, before clashing with two top-25 foes on Saturday and Sunday. The Dukes will square off with 24th-ranked Western Kentucky on Saturday, before facing off with eighth-ranked Penn State on Sunday at noon.

— JMU Athletics —