University of South Alabama Athletics

HARRISONBURG, Va. | The reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week, Kennedy Louisell recorded a match-high 15 kills and a .500 attack percentage as James Madison opened the series with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 26-24) win over South Alabama Friday night at the Convocation Center.

Cambria Gaier and Eva Dittmar each recorded 10 kills for South Alabama (5-8, 0-1 SBC) in the loss. 

The Dukes (6-5, 1-0 SBC) committed just 13 attack errors and posted a .323 hitting percentage to go along with seven total blocks.

Quotable – head coach Jesse Ortiz
- On the match: "Tonight was a tough match. I thought we saw a lot of promise from a lot of our players. JMU is a very formidable team, one of the best in the Sun Belt. I felt we went toe-to-toe with them. I know we didn't win a set, but I liked our fight. I feel that we are going to work harder and make adjustments for round two tomorrow."

How It Happened 
Set 1 – James Madison 25, South Alabama 21
•    KEY MOMENT: South Alabama looked as if it had cut the deficit to one late in the set, but after a challenge and review, the point was replayed and JMU was able to get the point to extend its lead to three (21-18)
•    South opened match by grabbing the first four points, which was highlighted by an ace from Anabelle Cerny, block assists by Dalayla Blackwell and Dittmar, who then added a kill
•    Trailing by four (6-2), JMU answered back and tied the set back up after block assists by Louisell and Anna Wilson, and later took a two-point lead after a kill by Ana Toumazatos
•    The Jags answered right back with the next five points to reclaim the lead (12-9) after three JMU attack errors, a service error and an ace by Marissa Taix
•    Tied 18-18 later in the set, Addie Norman posted her fifth kill of the match to give the Dukes the lead for good
•    With James Madison leading by three, South tried to rally back as Cerny dumped in a kill and Gaier posted a solo block to trim the deficit to one (21-20), but the Dukes reeled off three-straight points after kills by Norman and Ella Holloway and a block assists by Ayen Nhial and Holloway to put the home team at set point
•    Two points later, Louisell sealed the 25-21 win with her fifth kill of the frame
•    Norman led all players with seven kills in the opening set

Set 2 – James Madison 25, South Alabama 1
•    KEY MOMENT: With the Jaguars leading 4-3 early on in the set, James Madison rattled off six unanswered points to take the lead for good
•    South Alabama led by one early on in the second set, but Sydney Lewis ignited a 6-0 run by the Dukes and Norman and Wilson later gave James Madison a 9-4 advantage with a block assist
•    Trailing 13-8, Gaier and Blackwell registered a kill each to pull within three, but JMU quickly extended its lead back out and pushed across five of the next six points
•    The Dukes closed out the set strong, rattling off five straight points to reach set point (24-13) after a kill by Shelby Davis
•    South Alabama did manage to fight off five set points, the last two coming off back-to-back kills by Gaier, but JMU was able to capture the 25-17 set win after a Jag attack error
•    Dittmar and Alivia Freeman each had four kills to lead South, while Louisell had five for JMU
•    The Dukes posted a .345 hitting percentage and committed just three attack errors in the set

Set 3 – James Madison 26, South Alabama 24
•    KEY MOMENT: After South Alabama had fought off a pair of set points and tied the frame up at 24-24, JMU was able to pick up the final two points to clinch the match
•    Tied 15-15, Freeman sparked a Jaguar run with a kill, and Dittmar later gave South a 19-16 advantage after her ninth kill of the match
•    James Madison answered back with four-straight points, tying the set up at 19-19 after a kill by Louisell, and after a South Alabama time out, Louisell added another kill to give the Dukes the lead
•    The Jaguars kept clawing back and tied the set back up (24-24) after an ace by Addison Hurst, her second of the night, but JMU was able to pick up the final two points after a South Alabama serving error and an attack error
•    Gaier recorded five of her 10 kills in the third set, while Dittmar had her second four-kill set of the match
•    Louisell posted her third five-kill set of the match as JMU committed just two attack errors and hit .345 

Post-Match Notes
•    The meeting marked the 10th in the all-time series and the fifth on JMU's home floor
•    Freeman recorded a season-high seven kills off the bench for the Jaguars
•    With her 10 kills, Gaier eclipsed the 550-kill mark for her career as she now has 552
•    Gaier also reached the 250-dig mark in the match as she now has 251
•    Gaier has recorded double-digit kill totals in six of her last seven, and 10 matches this fall
•    Dittmar has recorded six or more kills in seven of her last eight matches

Up Next
•    South Alabama will close out the series with the Dukes on Saturday with first serve set for 12 pm (CT).

FOLLOW THE JAGS
For complete coverage of South Alabama Volleyball, follow the Jags on social media @SouthAlabamaVB (Twitter), /SouthAlabama (Facebook), @southalabamavb (Instagram) or visit the official home of South Alabama athletics at USAJaguars.com.