JMU volleying for respect
Coaches select Dukes to finish fourth in conference
By John Galle, sports editor
Posted on August 31, 2006

Beneath the lights of Godwin’s Sinclair Gym, the JMU women’s volleyball squad got back into form in the notoriously hot, muggy and humid environment they still call home.

“We definitely don’t get used to it,” senior middle blocker Ashley Copenhaver said.

Other seniors agreed, but senior right side Bayli Stillwell said that while it’s hard for them, it’s harder for opposing teams to come in and play JMU at home.

Last weekend was a testament to that as the Dukes began their season 3-1 to win the 2006 JMU Days Inn Invitational. The Dukes suffered their sole loss to Rutgers University (2-2) on Sunday 3-2, while defeating Canisius College (3-1), Duquesne University (2-2) and the North Carolina-Asheville (0-4) in straight sets.

Stillwell was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, racking up a team-high 55 kills, 47 digs and 14 total blocks over the four-match weekend. As a unit, the Dukes were off to a solid start with stronger team chemistry.

“It felt really good,” senior defender Amanda Snead said. “I feel like it’s a different team on the court [than last year]. Everyone’s really meshing well.”

The upperclassmen, in particular, seem to be meshing well, as the team returns four starters and both liberos, including five of its top six kill leaders, three of its top four servers (based on total aces) and three of its top blockers. With the addition of four freshmen, coupled with the loss of only two starters, this year’s team has a brand new swagger.

“The mentality going in this year is a little bit different,” Stillwell said. “We are respecting other teams, but not necessarily being afraid of them like we have in the past. And I think that’s our goal this year — to tackle things that have tripped us up in the past, which would be like putting teams up as better than us, when they’re really not.”

There were five teams better than JMU on paper in the Colonial Athletic Association last season, as the Dukes (14-13) finished 8-10 in conference. Though they snuck into the CAA tournament at No. 6, they were ousted in the first round by No. 3 Hofstra.
The Dukes will look forward to a better showing as they have been picked to finish fourth in this season’s preseason poll.

Coach Disa Garner, heading into her seventh year with the Dukes, has already compared this team’s mindset and work ethic to that of the JMU championship squads of 1999 and 2000.

“The mentality of the kids when I first got here were pretty old school,” Garner said. “They’re pretty tough. It doesn’t matter how hot it is or how tired they might be, they muscle through it.”

With the latest Dukes victory, Garner has reached her 100th win since taking over at JMU. The milestone is an achievement in itself, however, Garner credits her players for getting it done on the court and would rather focus on getting them to a championship.
To do so, the Dukes focused on two weaknesses in particular this preseason: blocking and defensive configurations.

“They had a great summer and worked hard in the preseason,” Garner said. “We haven’t had a lot of things wrong, so it’s been very productive and the environment on our team has been excellent. The upperclassmen are really finding their roles right now.”
Much of the preseason success translated onto the court last weekend.

“Whenever we made mistakes, we didn’t keep making them and making them,” Copenhaver said. “We fixed it really quick.”

This year’s team members aren’t just fast learners, they are also tough.

“We’re relentless,” Snead said. “There were points [last weekend] where we were down, where we would have maybe given up last year, but we just kept pushing through and ended up winning.”

The Dukes are taking the success and positive energy in stride knowing that they will have to bring it all into conference play, where it will count.

“We have a whole different attitude toward the game,” Stillwell said. “I think we’re just ready to be a winning team and not a team that’s on the bubble every year.”

Said Garner, “This is not a group that is going to cave in, panic or just quit. That’s something we learned about ourselves this [past] weekend."