Volleyball beats Radford at home
JMU wins non-conference game vs. Highlanders
By Tim Chapman, contributing writer
Posted on October 12, 2006

After a quick 3-0 start in the first game, the JMU women’s volleyball team (12-6) looked primed to handle Radford University (6-11) in a timely fashion. But the team would have to rely on late-game surges from senior outside hitters Hanna Porterfield and Allyson Halls to stave off inconsistent play and a resilient opponent, winning 3-1 in non-conference action Tuesday in Sinclair Gymnasium.

Early in the first game, Halls made her presence known with a flurry of kills and blocks. Radford overloaded Halls’ side in an attempt to slow her down, only to see freshman middle blocker Kaitlin McFaddin step up and close the game on a soft volley.

Halls is used to seeing such adjustments and knows how to adapt.

“I needed to take smarter shots and not just try to blast through,” Halls said.

Despite establishing early control with a first-game win, 30-20, JMU coach Disa Garner saw her team just as easily give away the momentum with sloppy play.

“We started taking things for granted and got careless, which led to a lot of bad choices,” Garner said. “We need to examine games two and three, so we can find how we can be more mature and get out of these situations.”

Radford won the second game 30-24 with key front line performances from middle blocker Lindsey Wheeler and outside hitter Lindsey Poole. They combined on a series of blocks to take their first lead at 13-12 and would build a lead as high as seven before Poole’s game-winning, cross-court kill.

Porterfield provided a spark in the third game with a number of deceptive volleys. Remembering how well Radford blocked her in the previous game, she resorted to her soft touch.

“We got refocused as a group, and as a senior I needed to be smarter and step it up,” Porterfield said.

The turning point in the match came midway through the third game, when McFaddin’s one-handed bump kept Madison alive in what would be the longest point of the match. McFaddin dove out of bounds, saving the ball over her head with her left hand. Sophomore middle blocker Michelle Johnson finished the point with a finesse volley.

“Nothing can hit the floor and you can’t give up at any point,” McFaddin said. “I was so pumped when I went up for a block after that, and it felt great when we finally scored.”

The Dukes won the third game 30-27, and with junior libero Jena Pierson anchoring the defense, the offense really opened up. In the fourth game, Halls led the scoring with seven kills, but attributed much of the success in the 3-1 match, to Pierson.

“She is very important,” Halls said. “[Pierson] picks everything up and is just about our whole defense.”

JMU will face the University of Delaware and Towson University this weekend and is looking to avenge earlier conference losses to each of them.

“We simply can’t play like we did tonight this weekend,” Pierson said. “If we do, we won’t win.”