Dukes Capture Second Straight Volleyball Title

11/18/2017 6:35:19 PM

Tim McDonnell

2017 Volleyball #CAAChamps Central

Box Score | Highlights

#3 James Madison 3, #1 College of Charleston 0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-17)

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Third-seeded James Madison captured its second consecutive CAA Volleyball Championship on Saturday, upsetting tournament top seed College of Charleston, 3-0, putting an end to the Cougars’ 15-match winning streak.

The Dukes, who obtain the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Volleyball Championship for the second straight year, earned their fifth CAA title overall and first on their own home court since 2000. Madison improved to 23-5 overall and makes its fourth NCAA tournament appearance all-time. JMU will find out its postseason fate during the 2017 NCAA Volleyball Selection Show, taking place on Sunday, November 26 at 9:00 p.m. on ESPNU.

Junior Bryn Recker had a match-high 19 kills and hit .410 percent to go with eight digs. Senior Taylor Austin added 21 digs and was named Most Outstanding Performer of the championship and sophomore M’Kaela White provided nine kills and eight blocks in the victory, which gave the Dukes their most overall wins in a single season since 1999. Recker, Austin and White all made the All-Tournament team for their efforts at the championship.

College of Charleston (27-5) made its fourth appearance in the title match since 2013 and lost for the first time since Sept. 24. The Cougars raced through conference play with a 15-1 record to win their third regular season title since joining the league in 2013.

After a career-best double-double performance in Friday’s semifinal win over Hofstra, junior Devon Rachel came through again with a team-high 14 kills, and also added 11 digs. 2017 CAA Player of the Year Krissy Mummey, a senior, finished with 10 kills and a solid .429 attack percentage while junior Kennedy Madison chipped in 10 kills in defeat. Junior setter Allison Beckman, who now sits fifth all-time in program history for career assists, had a match-high 37.

For the third straight match, Recker led her team in the first set with seven kills alone, while the Dukes grabbed the early momentum with a 25-21 set victory. The Cougars held control for most of the second set and made it 21-19 after a kill from Lauren Freed. Madison settled down, though, after a timeout and responded with a 6-1 run to close the set and grab a 2-0 match lead.

In the third and final set, JMU limited CofC to a .075 team hitting percentage while Recker collected six total kills to help the Dukes close the match, and victory with a 25-17 win.

Notes: Charleston was looking for its first trophy since 2013 – the program’s inaugural season in the conference. Madison hosted the CAA Championship for the seventh time in program history and finished the tournament avenging a pair of regular season losses to both second-seeded Towson and the top-seeded Cougars. Both of JMU’s last two wins came in straight sets, while every other match of the championship lasted five sets. Delaware (2007-08) was the last conference team to win back-to-back CAA Volleyball titles. The Dukes made program history a year ago with a set victory in their NCAA first round loss to Coastal Carolina. Charleston owns eight NCAA tournament appearances all-time, most recently in back-to-back fashion from 2012-13. CofC will host the 2018 CAA Volleyball Championship.

2017 All-Tournament Team

*Taylor Austin, James Madison | Sr. | DS/L

Jocelyn Kuilan, Towson | Jr. | RS

Krissy Mummey, College of Charleston | Sr. | MB

Ivania Ortiz, Hofstra | Fr. | OH/L

Devon Rachel, College of Charleston | Jr. | OH

Bryn Recker, James Madison | Jr. | OH

M’Kaela White, James Madison | So. | MB

*-CAA Championship Most Outstanding Performer

2017 CAA Volleyball Championship – Sinclair Gymnasium, Harrisonburg, Va.

November 16 - Quarterfinals
4:05 PM: No. 3 Seed James Madison 3, No. 6 Seed Elon 2
7:05 PM: No. 5 Seed Hofstra 3, No. 4 Seed Northeastern 2

November 17 - Semifinals
4:05 PM: No. 3 Seed James Madison 3, No. 2 Seed Towson 0
7:05 PM: No. 1 Seed College of Charleston 3, No. 5 Seed Hofstra 2

November 18 - Championship Final
4:05 PM: No. 3 Seed James Madison 3, #1 Seed College of Charleston 0