HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison volleyball cruised to its eighth straight victory with a sweep over Georgia State Friday evening at the Convocation Center.

The Dukes (15-4, 8-0 Sun Belt) won by set scores of 25-13, 25-16, and 25-19 to remain perfect in conference play. With the loss, Georgia State dropped to 5-14 and 2-6 against league competition.

Miëtte Veldman once again paced the JMU offense, as the senior finished with 16 kills and three digs, while Brenya Reid racked up nine kills and Sophie Davis added eight. As a team, the Dukes outhit the Panthers .363 to .203.

JMU held a 14-5 advantage in service aces, as Jaydyn Clemmer (5) and Davis (4) picked up career highs in the contest. Madilyn O’Toole and Julia McNeley both added two, while setter Rebecca Watkins recorded one, adding to her team-high total of 28. Through 19 matches, James Madison is averaging 1.99 aces per set.

Aaliyah Mitchell led the Georgia State offense with nine kills, while Maren Palmer picked up 15 assists and six digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Set 1: JMU 25-13
• Veldman and Kwasnik got the Dukes off to a hot start with back-to-back kills for a 5-2 JMJU lead.
• The Panthers trailed by two before four straight points from the Dukes gave JMU an 11-5 lead. A kill from Davis, two aces from Madilyn O’Toole and a double block from Davis and Caroline Dozier expanded the lead and forced a GSU timeout.
• Georgia State trimmed the deficit to four (14-10) before JMU responded with three unanswered, pushing the lead back to seven (17-10).
• After a double block from Izzy Durnell and Akira Burt made the score 18-13, the Dukes rattled off seven straight points and won the first set in dominating fashion.

Set 2: JMU 25-16
• The second set started closer than the first as consecutive kills from Georgia State’s Aaliyah Mitchell tied the score at three.
• JMU responded with a 5-2 spurt that included kills from Rebecca Watkins, Veldman, Kwasnik and Reid for an 8-5 advantage.
• The Panthers showed some fight as two straight points trimmed the Dukes’ edge to 11-9.
• Four straight points from JMU gave the home team some cushion (15-9), but Georgia State answered with a 4-1 run which once again tightened the score at 16-13.
• A service error from the Panthers sparked an 8-2 run for the Dukes which broke open the score, capped off by three straight aces from Clemmer and a kill from Elizabeth Helmich. Davis notched a kill, sealing the deal on the second set for JMU.

Set 3: JMU 25-19
• The two teams traded 3-0 runs to open the scoring, as consecutive kills from Georgia State tied the set at three.
• The score remained tight for multiple rallies before the Dukes fired off six straight points, extending the lead to 15-8 on two straight service aces from Julia McNeley.
• JMU’d advantage ballooned to nine (20-11) and cruised from there, as back-to-back kills from Reid and Veldman secured the sweep for the Dukes.

QUICK HITS
• Since joining the Sun Belt in 2022, JMU has gone 26-1 against league foes. In 2023, The Dukes have only lost three sets in conference play, while recording five sweeps.
• The 14 service aces are the second most by JMU this season. The Dukes tallied 16 in the season-opener against High Point on Aug. 25.
• In conference play, JMU has held its opponents to a .155 hitting percentage, including a .203 clip on Friday.
• With her 18th solo block of the 2023 season and 111th in her career, Davis is one solo block away from tying Karla Gessler (112) for the second-most in school history.

UP NEXT
The Dukes travel to Conway, S.C. for a pair of matches against Coastal Carolina next Friday and Saturday. Friday’s match will be at 6 p.m., while Saturday’s match will take place at 1 p.m.

— JMU Athletics —