HARRISONBURG, Va., Oct. 31, 2009 – Freshman Danielle Erb (Tampa, Fla./Plant) and sophomore Kelly Turner (Ontario, N.Y./Wayne Central) combined to hit .460 with 30 kills as James Madison defeated UNC Wilmington 3-1 in a Colonial Athletic Association women’s volleyball match Saturday evening in Sinclair Gymnasium.

JMU finished its home stand at 4-0 for the longest winning streak of the season as the Dukes improved to 11-16 overall and 4-7 in the CAA, climbing from ninth to seventh in the league standings..  After dropping the opening set 25-23, Madison breezed through the next three 25-16, 25-16, and 25-12.  UNCW fell to 13-14 overall and 3-7 in the league.

JMU head coach Disa Garner commented on the win, “I’m really proud of them for another great weekend, taking care of business for two matches and turning it around tonight after a hard match last night.  It’s really enjoyable as a coach to see how they grow each weekend and get better and better in their confidence and grow in their trust for each other.”

Erb led all players with 16 kills on .393 hitting with 13 digs for her team-leading ninth double-double of the season.  Turner hit .545 with 14 kills.  Junior Lindsay Callahan (Virginia Beach, Va./Landstown) had a near double-double with nine kills on .320 hitting with nine digs, six assists, and six blocks. 

Sophomore Holly Wall (Kaukauna, Wisc./Kaukauna) contributed to the effort with 13 kills and six digs.  Freshman Megan Wiechmann (Sunland, Calif./Village Christian) totaled 44 assists and nine digs.  Redshirt freshman libero Natalie Abel (Washington, Pa./Trinity) had 21 digs for her second straight match over 20.  Freshman Haley Jacobsen (Winchester, Va./Sherando) led all players with seven blocks. 

Garner added, “We had some great balance and great performances tonight.  Dani had another double-double.  Cal didn’t have the double-double but was so low-error and made some great decisions  She did a great job changing the flatness at the beginning and was pivotal for turning that around.  Holly Wall had a great night.  She passed well and turned some big corners this weekend.  She has grown in her confidence in herself.  Getting Turner back in was also big as she had another big night with some good blocking.  Both nights we blocked well.  We had 20 more digs than they did.  We’ve struggled in those two areas and have really done a lot in practice to fix that.  Also, our serving effort was great.  We’ve missed a lot of serves in other recent matches but we had a great service night.”

Lindsey STrucko led UNCW with 10 kills along with 12 digs.  Kelli Clear added eight kills and seven digs.  Kelsey Bendig posted 29 assists and six digs.

UNCW pulled ahead from the start in set one, taking a quick 7-3 lead and never looking back.  The lead grew to 19-12 before Abel served the Dukes on a 5-0 run to make it 19-17.  The Seahawks then earned set point at 24-20 before the Dukes made it close with a 3-0 spurt with a pair of blocks.  Mohrman then finished the set with a kill for the 25-23 win.  Strucko had five kills and seven digs to pace the Seahawks while Bendig had 12 assists.  Turner led JMU with seven kills on .417 hitting while Abel tallied seven digs.

JMU led from start to finish in the second set, facing just one tie.  The Dukes gradually increased their margin throughout the set, putting the match away by turning a 16-11 lead into 21-11 with a 5-0 run with Callahan at serve.  JMU won the set 25-16.  Wall tallied seven kills as the Dukes hit .375 in the set.  Wiechmann had 11 assists in the set.

Set three was tight in the early going until JMU gradually pulled away from a 10-10 tie.  The Dukes led 16-14 when they posted seven of the next eight points to go up 23-15 before winning 25-16.  Erb had six kills on .667 hitting with seven digs while Callahan hit .500 with five kills.  Wiechmann had 12 assists and Abel six digs.  UNCW hit .026 in the set.

JMU faced no ties or lead changes in the final set.  The Dukes pulled ahead 8-2 before then putting the  match away with a 6-0 run to go up 15-5 and a 5-0 run to move ahead 21-7 before the 25-12 win.  Erb had five kills in the set.

After playing its final home match, JMU hits the road next weekend with a match Friday at VCU at 7 p.m. and Saturday at William and Mary at 7 p.m.

“Our freshmen are not playing as freshmen anymore.  They’re able to make the tactical adjustments during play.  The team had a great weekend.   I’m really proud of their efforts.  I’m looking forward to next weekend, even though we’re playing three of the top four teams on the road, this team has a great belief in themselves now.  It will be interesting to see how things play out.  Even though we can’t be in the tournament, we’re excited to spoil some things for other people.”