FORT MYERS, Fla. (JMU Athletics) – James Madison volleyball junior Kennedy Louisell finished with 23 kills, but the Dukes fell to Florida Gulf Coast in five sets (17-25, 27-25, 23-25, 26-24, 11-15) on Sunday afternoon at Alico Arena.
JMU (0-3), despite Louisell’s 23-kill effort, could not overcome 11 service errors. Barbara Koehler led a balanced FGCU (2-1) attack, which saw three players finish with double-digit kills to go along with Koehler.
The JMU freshman tandem of Ana Toumazatos (13) and Addie Norman (11) combined for 25 kills, both career-highs for the outside hitters. Rebecca Watkins led JMU with 24 assists, while Grace Wenrich notched a double-double with 22 assists and 15 digs.
Along with Koehler, Camila Soto (13) and Julija Grubisic Cabo (12) also notched double-digit digs for FGCU.
How It Happened
First Set: FGCU 25-17
• A dump set from Wenrich tied the score at 8-8 as both teams traded runs early.
• FGCU used a 7-1 run to open a 15-9 lead at the media timeout, and the Dukes got no closer than five the rest of the way as the Eagles took the first.
Second Set: JMU 27-25
• FGCU had control of the set early on, jumping ahead 14-6 on a kill from Soto.
• JMU trimmed the deficit to four (14-10), but a Soto kill and an Anna Wilson attacking error pushed the Eagles’ lead back to six (18-12).
• Down 24-19, the Dukes scored six straight points to take a 25-24 lead and were able to complete the comeback on a pair of FGCU attacking errors.
Third Set: FGCU 25-23
• The Dukes carried their momentum from the second and forced an Eagles’ timeout with the score 8-5.
• Out of the timeout, FGCU scored six straight to go back ahead 11-8.
• Down 19-13, JMU scored on four straight rallies to cut the lead to two (19-17) and force a FGCU timeout.
• The Dukes got to within one point on two occasions but were unable to tie or take the lead as the home team went ahead 2-1.
Fourth Set: JMU 26-24
• JMU took the first timeout of the set as a solo block from Soto gave FGCU a 15-10 lead.
• The Dukes used a 7-1 run to get back into the set, eventually tying the score at 18-18 on a kill from Melisa Ilter.
• With the score tied at 24-24, kills from Louisell and Ilter were enough to give JMU the fourth and tie the match at 2-2.
Fifth Set: FGCU 15-11
• FGCU jumped on JMU early in the fifth and led 10-5 as the Dukes’ burned both of their timeouts.
• JMU got within one (11-10), but only managed one point the rest of the way as the Eagles took the match in five.
Match Notes
• Through three matches, Louisell has a total of 60 kills in 12 sets (5.00 per set) and has recorded a pair of double-doubles.
• For the second straight match, Wenrich finished with 20-plus assists.
• Anna Wilson finished with a career-high 7.0 total blocks.
Up Next
James Madison returns to Harrisonburg to host the LD&B Insurance Invitational Sept. 5-7. Action gets underway on Friday, Sept. 5, when JMU takes on Bellarmine at 5 p.m. inside the Convocation Center.
— JMU Athletics —
