University of Delaware Athletics
University of Delaware
8-13, 2-6CAA
James Madison
11-10, 3-5CAA
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JMU | 25 | 23 | 19 | 25 | 15 | 2 |
| DELAWARE | 20 | 25 | 25 | 17 | 17 | 3 |
Blue Hens Win Second Straight With Five-Set Thriller Over James Madison
10/16/2016 4:33:00 PM | Volleyball
• Boxscore
• Boxscore (pdf)
NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware volleyball team fought off a match point and then took the final two of a thrilling fifth set as the Blue Hens posting an exhilarating 3-2 victory over James Madison Sunday afternoon at the Bob Carpenter Center.
Delaware, which won its second consecutive match while improving to 8-13 overall and 2-6 in the Colonial Athletic Association, took the contest by set scores of 20-25, 25-23, 25-19, 17-25, 17-15. The Dukes dropped their third straight contest while falling to 11-10 overall and 3-5 in league play.
UD senior outside hitter Autumn Jenkins blasted a season-high 19 kills for the Blue Hens, while Daria Robinson added 11 and Maria Bellinger contributed 10 on the day. Erin Layne established her career-high for the second straight match by handing out 51 assists, while Taylor Hollingsworth posted a career-best 35 digs.
Janey Goodman paced James Madison with 29 kills and a .446 hitting percentage, Tilbe Yaglioglu and Sarah Martin combined for 60 assists, and Taylor Austin made 33 digs for the Dukes.
Delaware led 17-14 in the first set, but JMU closed the frame with an 11-3 run as the Dukes claimed the opening set by five points. The second stanza featured 16 ties and eight lead changes, and JMU looked to take a two-set lead when the Dukes surged in front 21-19. However Delaware took six of the next eights points, closing the set on a Jenkins kill, to pull even at a set apiece.
The Blue Hens then led for a majority of the third frame, leading by as many as six points before Jenkins again put the set away with a kill. However JMU raced out to a 10-2 advantage in the fourth set and was not seriously threatened to force the fifth stanza.
Delaware bounced back to win the first three points of the fifth set, but the Dukes rallied to go in front 6-5 and the set was extremely tight the rest of the way. JMU won two straight points to earn a match point at 15-14, but Swann and Bellinger combined on a block to keep the Blue Hens alive. Following another block by Robinson and Layne, Robinson slammed a kill to put the match away.
"I'm so proud of how well we fought and came together as a team," Jenkins said. "We had great energy all day, and that's what we needed to win."
Delaware will play its next four matches on the road, beginning with a 7 p.m. contest at the College of Charleston on Friday.
Match Notes:
• Jenkins had 10 digs and she posted her 11th double-double of the year
• Hollingsworth surpassed the 1,400-digs mark for her career
• Robinson posted a team-leading six blocks while Layne, Swann and Bellinger added four apiece
• Delaware improved to 3-3 in five-set matches this year
• Delaware snapped a three-match losing streak to James Madison
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Kevin Tritt at: ktritt@udel.edu (email) / 302-831-8715 (office) / 302-383-5005 (cell)
