HARRISONBURG, Va.– Georgia Southern volleyball (17-5, 7-4 Sun Belt) furiously battled James Madison (16-6, 9-2 SBC) but did not win the marathon, falling in five sets on Thursday night.

"That was a heck of a battle tonight, and I'm proud of our group," head coach Chad Willis said. "That was two high-level teams slugging it out and we just came up a bit short. We have a lot to take away and that will help us on the reset for tomorrow night's match."

Both teams came out firing in the opening set, but Georgia Southern ended up on top. Using a late 4-0 run to go up 22-18, JMU stormed back to make it a 24-23 game.

Following a timeout, Chamblee Russell closed it and slammed home her sixth kill of the set to seal a wild 25-23 win.

JMU responded with a set win in the second frame, and although the Eagles had a 4-0 run at set point, the deficit was too much to overcome. 

Reagan Barth got up to 12 kills after the second frame, her eleventh consecutive game with double digits.

The third set was very much back-and-forth, as the Eagles came from behind to take a 20-17 lead, but the Dukes' 5-0 run dug a hole for GS. JMU took the third set 25-21.

In the fourth set, the Eagles battled back thanks to a timely 6-0 run. JMU battled back, but GS remained in front, earning a 25-17 win.
 
Ashlyn Lovett reached 31 digs in the fourth frame, setting a new career high.

In yet another back-and-forth set, with the Eagles battling to tie it at 13 late, James Madison emerged victorious at 15-13.

Russell's 21 kills led the Eagles and were a new career-high, while Lovett's 35 digs were the highest by any Georgia Southern player since 2016. Lovett vaulted into sixth place on the all-time digs list, and could surpass Hall of Famer Kate Van Dyke for fifth with eight digs in the next match.

Kirsten Barrett reached a double-double (32 ast, 10 digs) and Ailie Hair recorded six total blocks.

The Eagles and Dukes will battle again on Friday at 5:00 p.m.