STATESBORO – Sophie Davis posted 14 kills and three blocks to lead James Madison to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-18) Sun Belt volleyball win over Georgia Southern Friday night in Hanner Fieldhouse. 

Eagles of the Match
Paige Powers collected 12 kills and three digs to lead the Eagles (14-7, 6-3), while Emily Jarome posted seven kills, five digs and a block. Baylor Bumford totaled six kills and a pair of blocks.

Key Moments
With Georgia Southern trailing 22-18 in the first set, the Eagles scored three straight points and trimmed the margin to one on a kill by Powers. James Madison (16-4, 10-1) answered with consecutive kills by Davis, and Bre Reid ended the set with a kill.

The Eagles came back from a seven-point deficit in the second set, and a kill by Powers made the score 20-19 in favor of the Dukes. JMU turned to Davis again, and she put down consecutive kills as the Dukes scored five of the next six to open a 2-0 lead in the match.

Key Stats
James Madison hit .378 for the match with 46 kills and just nine errors on 98 swings. The Dukes had 12 more kills, nine less errors and 13 more swings than the Eagles.

Quotables from Coach Chad Willis
"It was a tough night; we really struggled to get consistency, especially with first contact, which resulted in too many unforced errors. Credit to them for putting pressure on us, but we have to figure out better ways to respond in those moments. Fortunately, we saw good stretches of play we can build on going into tomorrow."

Next up
The Eagles and Dukes meet again Saturday at noon in Hanner Fieldhouse, and the contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+.