BOWLING GREEN, KY. (JMU Athletics) – A back-and-forth affair, JMU (2-3) dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker to Eastern Kentucky (5-1) in the opening match of the Alyssa Cavanaugh Classic on Thursday afternoon.

JMU took sets one and four while EKU snagged sets two and three, sending the match into a decisive fifth set for the first time this season for the Dukes. While JMU trailed by as many as six points (9-3), the Dukes put together a run of their own to knot set five at 10-all. A final timeout call by Eastern Kentucky, however, led into a 5-1 Colonels run that secured the 15-11 set victory and 3-2 match win.

Overall, the Dukes and Colonels exchanged leads 14 times and sat tied 33 times throughout the contest.

Kennedy Louisell led all players with 19 kills and 28.5 points on the day while Anna Wilson stood the tallest at the net with a career-best 12 blocks.

The Dukes continue the Alyssa Cavanaugh Classic tomorrow with a 7pm contest against host Western Kentucky. The match can be found on ESPN+.

How We Got Here
Set One – JMU 25, EKU 18
• After JMU trailed 10-5, the Dukes put together a 7-0 run to take a brief lead at 12-10.
• From that point, JMU and EKU traded blows and mini scoring runs that included six tie scores and four lead changes.
• On the fifth lead change, the Dukes scored eight unanswered to win set one, 25-18.

Set Two – EKU 25, JMU 23
• Louisell and Sydney Lewis teamed up for the 14th point of the set, part of a 5-1 run to put the Dukes up 15-13. EKU answered the run with back-to-back scores to tie the set for the sixth time.
• JMU went on a 3-0 run to go up 18-15 before an EKU timeout settled the Colonels enough for their own 3-0 run and seventh tie of the set. There were two additional tied scores before EKU tallied the final two points for the set win.

Set Three – EKU 27, JMU 25
• JMU and EKU exchanged the lead 14 times and sat tied 5 times before the Colonels closed the set 27-25 and took a 2-1 lead overall.
• The Colonels outscored the Dukes 6-1 in the final serves of the set.

Set Four – JMU 25, EKU 15
• A 5-0 run by JMU pushed the Dukes to a 10-3 lead in the early goings of set four.
• EKU never got closer than within 3 of JMU, last seen at 11-8.
• JMU closed on a 5-0 run for the win.

Set Five – EKU 15, JMU 11
• EKU used a 3-0 run to take the 7-3 lead, prompting a JMU timeout. The run continued out of the break (5-0), pushing the Colonels ahead to 9-3.
• A second JMU timeout settled the Dukes, who broke out with a 3-0 run of their own that closed the gap to 9-6 before EKU wanted to talk it over. JMU continued the run coming out of the stoppage, blossoming to 5-0 and coming within one of EKU (9-8).
• A 6-1 JMU scoring run tied the set for just the second time at 10-all, but EKU closed the set on a 5-1 run to take the set and match.

Match Notes
• Anna Wilson posted a career high with 12 blocks, reaching double digits for the first time in a JMU uniform.
• Louisell posted a 19-kill, 14-dig double-double, her second of the season. She has reached double-digit kills in every match this season, stretching her full streak to 36 consecutive matches and 29th overall performance with at least 15 kills for her career.
• This was the first 5-set contest of the season for the Dukes while it marked the third such match for the Colonels.
• JMU has reached double-digit blocks as a team for the fifth straight match to start the season with 17.0. EKU had a season-best 12 blocks as a team.
• The Dukes held the Colonels to a .143 hitting percentage (168-56-32), well below EKU’s season average of .233. JMU hit .221 (154-61-27), slightly below their season average of .251.
• Ella Grace Holloway had a season-best 10 kills and hit .533 (10-2-15) for the match.
• Ayen Nhial also posted a season best with nine kills and added six total blocks to her career total (254).
• JMU recorded a season-high 13 service aces in the contest. Louisell led the way with a career-high eight of her own.
• Grace Wenrich tallied season highs in assists (19) and digs (7). Lindsey Large tied her career high with 23 assists.
• Shelby Davis tied her career high in digs for the third time this season (7). Sydney Lewis had a season-high and team-best 18 digs.

— JMU Athletics —