NORFOLK, Va. (JMU Athletics) – James Madison volleyball won its 12th straight match, sweeping Old Dominion 25-15, 25-23, 25-23, on Friday evening inside the ODU Volleyball Center.

With the win, JMU (19-6, 12-1 SBC) clinched the No. 1 seed in the East Division for the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Championship in Foley, Ala., securing a bye to the quarterfinal round. ODU fell to 5-19 and 2-11 in league play.

The win for JMU is its 12th straight, tied for the fifth-longest streak in program history and longest since the 2022 season.

Kennedy Louisell led JMU with 12 kills with a career-high five aces. Ayen Nhial hit .750, registering seven kills on eight swings and only one error, while Addie Norman added six kills.

Rita Benido led ODU with 12 kills with a .407 hitting percentage. The Monarchs hit just .157 and had nine service errors.

How It Happened
First Set: James Madison 25-15
JMU used a 7-0 run to go ahead 9-6 and force an ODU timeout. The Dukes extended the lead to 15-8 on a block from Addie Norman and Anna Wilson.
An ODU error gave JMU a 21-12 lead, as the Monarchs took another timeout. The Dukes put the finishing touches on the first set on a solo block from Wilson.

Second Set: James Madison 25-23
A kill from Tiana Stubbs gave ODU a 15-12 lead, and the advantage grew to 17-13 as the Dukes called a timeout.
A block from Nhial and Melisa Ilter and an ODU error trimmed the Monarchs’ lead to 22-20.
Three straight points gave JMU a 23-222 lead, capped off by an ace from McNeley. A pair of ODU attacking errors gave the Dukes the come-from-behind win in the second.

Third Set: James Madison 25-23
Four straight points from JMU gave the Dukes a 12-11 lead and forced a timeout from the Monarchs.
ODU edged ahead 17-16 on a solo block before five straight points for the Dukes gave JMU a 21-17 lead.
The Monarchs battled back to tie the set at 22-22 and force a timeout from JMU. The Dukes scored three of the last four points of the set to take the win.

Match Notes
Louisell’s five aces are the most for a JMU player since Rebecca Waktins had five against Old Dominion on Nov. 8, 2024.
JMU improved to 6-1 against ODU in the all-time series and 3-0 in road matches.
The Dukes secured the No. 1 seed in the East for the 2025 Sun Belt Volleyball Championship and will play on Friday, Nov. 21, at 1:30 p.m., inside the Foley Sports Tourism Center.
Louisell finished with 12 kills, bringing her season total to 501. She is the first JMU player with 500 or more kills since Janey Goodman had 552 in 2016 and just the fourth Duke overall with 500 or more kills in a season, joining Lindsay Collingwood (506), Janey Goodman (552), and Sheila Chittams (615).

Up Next
JMU and Old Dominion will conclude their two-match series tomorrow at 2 p.m.

— JMU Athletics —