MATCH STATS
- James Madison def. Elon 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-20)
- James Madison moves to 11-0, 2-0 CAA; Elon falls to 11-6, 1-2 CAA
- Elon, North Carolina
- Attendance: 274
- Box Score
ELON, N.C. – James Madison continued its best start in program history by winning every facet of the match in a road sweep of Elon Monday night.
The Dukes bested Elon in kills (42-31), hitting percentage (.356 to .071), aces (4-1), blocks (8-4) and digs (35-33).
JMU hit over .333 in every set and utilized a balanced attack with four players tallying seven or more kills in the victory. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Kelly Vahos led the way with 10 kills in an errorless 21 swings for a .476 hitting effort, while also notching two blocks, three digs and an ace. Junior outside Bryn Recker (9), freshman outside Liv Crawley (9) and sophomore middle blocker M’Kaela White (7) followed. Junior middle Taylor Gail put up a team-best four blocks, followed by Recker and White with three apiece. Senior libero Taylor Austin pulled up a team-leading 12 digs and two aces.
Elon looked to senior outside Sydney Busa to carry the team, which she did with a team-best 10 kills and nine digs. Freshman middle Courtney Carpenter and junior outside Kam Terry added six kills apiece. Sophomore middle Elizabeth Coil put up a team-best four blocks, while junior libero Maddie Jaudon aided the backcourt defense with eight digs.
The lead changed hands five times in the first 17 points of Set 1 with each team boasting at least a two-point edge. Down 8-7, JMU grabbed the lead with a 12-3 run. Five players posted kills in the surge, while the Dukes also put up three blocks. Elon stopped James Madison momentarily with a kill and a block by Coil. Kills by Crawley, Vahos, Tilbe Yalioglu and Sarah Martin put the Dukes at the brink at 25-16. Busa squashed the Dukes’ first two set-point tries with kills, before Crawley gave JMU the 25-17 win.
JMU wasted little time setting the tone in Set 2, cruising to a 10-2 lead as Elon committed three errors and Crawley turned in two more kills. The Ph0enix were within five at 10-5, but couldn’t get any closer as the Dukes turned up the heat with a 9-3 run. A trio of Elon miscues and two Recker kills aided the run, which made it 19-8. A Terry kill and a hitting error provided a brief pause, but two putaways by Vahos and Gail pushed the margin to 13 at 23-10. Elon scored four of the next five, including two Terry kills, but were done in by a service error at 25-14.
James Madison led by as many as three in the early going, but the teams tied at 9, sparking a string of six ties, last at 14-all. The Dukes pulled away with 10 of the next 14 points. Vahos notched four kills in the run, while Crawley and Recker chipped in two apiece as JMU vaulted ahead 24-18. A Busa kill and Jaudon ace kept the set going, but a service error ended the night, keeping the Dukes’ undefeated record in tact.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy: James Madison Athletics
After a balanced offensive effort, the James Madison volleyball team swept Elon, 3-0, which allowed the Dukes to improve to the best start in program history at 11-0 (2-0 CAA).
The Dukes have now swept seven of their 11 opponents this season and are one of four teams left in the nation who support an undefeated record.
MATCH NOTES
- The Dukes swept Elon 3-0 in set scores of 25-17, 25-14, and 25-20.
- JMU had six players with 3 or more kills led by redshirt Sophomore Kelly Vahos who led the Dukes’ offense with 10. Bryn Recker and Liv Crawleyfollowed closely behind with nine each.
- Freshman Liv Crawley set a new career and season high with her nine kills in the match, surpassing her previous high of seven.
- Tilbe Yaglioglu and Sarah Martin led the Dukes in assists with 18 and 14, respectively.
- Junior Taylor Gail tallied four blocks, while Bryn Recker, Sarah Martin and M’Kaela White each added three, helping the Dukes garner 8.0 total blocks on the evening.
- Defensively, JMU held the Phoenix to a .000 hitting percentage over the first two sets, while the Dukes hit .356 for the match.
- Senior Taylor Austin led all players with 12 digs in the match.
- The Dukes also had four aces to Elon’s one, led by Taylor Austin who had two.
- Elon’s Sydney Busa tallied 10 kills and nine digs to lead the Phoenix, while Kodi Garcia led all players with 22 assists.
DOMINATING START
The Dukes are now 11-0 overall, which is the best start in program history. The 2017 squad surpassed the 1984 team who started 10-0 before losing their next two matches.QUOTING COACH STEINBRECHER
“I was very proud of our team tonight, I thought everyone executed at a high level and we played smart volleyball. Our setters did a great job running the offense and finding ways to get all of our hitters involved. It’s exciting to break a program record and I am proud of this team and their hard work and dedication, but the work isn’t over. We are excited to get back in the gym and prepare for our next match this weekend.”
UP NEXT
The Dukes prepare for a two game home stand as they host UNCW on Friday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. and College of Charleston on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 1 p.m., both matches will be held inside Sinclair Gymnasium.
Courtesy: Elon Athletics
Elon University volleyball suffered a 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-20) loss to James Madison on Monday night, Sept. 25, inside Alumni Gym.
“We came out very flat and it took us too long to start executing like we are capable, which is not typical of our team,” said Elon head coach Mary Tendler. “When you do that against a very good team like James Madison, you will not get favorable results. We will look to have a better start on Thursday night against William & Mary.”
The loss, Elon’s third in the last four matches after a seven-match winning streak, dropped the Phoenix to 11-6 on the season and 1-2 in CAA play. James Madison continued its perfect start to the year, now at 11-0 overall and 2-0 in conference action.
THE RUNDOWN
Elon opened the match winning four of the first five points, but James Madison responded with six of the next seven points to take a 7-5 lead. The Phoenix rattled off the next three points to go back up by one, but the Dukes took control of the set with a 9-1 run to take a 16-9 lead on the way to a 25-17 set win.
Madison used its momentum from the first set early on in the second, jumping out to a 10-2 advantage. Elon cut the lead in half twice, making it 10-5 and 14-7, but the Dukes continued the strong set on the way to claiming a 25-14 win.
In the third set, JMU opened the frame by doubling the Phoenix up at 8-4 before Elon fought back to tie the set at 10 and eventually took a 12-11 lead after back-to-back attack errors by the Dukes. The two teams went back and forth with the set 14-all before James Madison went on a 3-0 run to take a 17-14 lead to bring an Elon timeout. Our of the stoppage, Elon brought the set back within two at 19-17, but JMU won five of the next six points to lead 24-18 and went on to win the final set 25-20.
HIGHLIGHTS
Sydney Busa narrowly missed her 12th double-double of the season, finishing with 10 kills and nine digs. Courtney Carpenter had a team-best .231 hitting percentage with six kills in the match while Elizabeth Coil had four kills and four blocks.
JMU had a .356 hitting percentage on the night with 42 kills and just 10 errors. Kelly Vahos led the Dukes with 10 kills and two blocks while Bryn Recker added nine kills, four digs and three blocks. Taylor Gail led JMU with four blocks while Tilbe Yaglioglu led the team with 18 assists.
NOTES
-With 10 kills in the match, Busa passed Britany Westphal for ninth place in program history for kills. She has amassed 1,111 in her career. The senior is also now 64 digs away from 1,000 digs.
-Maddie Jaudon’s eight digs surpassed Katie Forman’s eighth-place number of 1,187. She now stands alone in eighth and is just 10 behind a tie for seventh with Maria LaButto.
UP NEXT
The Phoenix will close a four-match homestand on Thursday, Sept. 28, when it welcomes William & Mary to Alumni Gym. First serve is set for 7 p.m. The match is the last of a run where Elon will have played nine of its last 10 matches at home before hitting the road for four in a row and nine of its last 13 on the regular season.
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