Dukes pillage Buccaneers

By Wes Shaw, contributing writer
Posted on September 17, 2007 

In its first home match of the season, Madison defeated Charleston Southern University three games to none in the JMU/Days Inn Invitational opener. The Lady Dukes improved their record to 5-4 behind outstanding double-digit kill performances from four players, including last week’s CAA player of the week, Allyson Halls.

The match, however, was much tighter than the final score would suggest. Madison struggled in its first two games and was unable to take a lead by more than six points in either game. The Dukes won the first game 30-26 and the second by a score of 30-25, and finished the match winning the third, 30-13. JMU totaled a combined 22 errors in the first two games.

“When you’re playing a team that might not challenge you as much up front, you tend to play a little bit sloppier,” Madison head coach Disa Garner said.

Another factor working against JMU was the time of the game.

“It’s hard to play a noon game; we normally play in the evenings,” Garner said. “School’s going on and classes are switching sessions in the building, so it’s hard to get into that mode right off the start.”

In the third game, Madison did get in “that mode” right off the bat, going up 14-5 before Charleston Southern called a timeout. The Lady Dukes only made eight errors as a team in its final game, closing out the match easily and winning the game by a score of 30-13.

“One of the missions we had for this match was for each game to get a little bit crisper,” Garner said. “And I think we did that. We got better each game.”

Although sluggish and sloppy at first, the young team was able to regain its composure and do exactly what its coach wanted.

“We had to focus on getting the job done,” Halls said. “It wasn’t that challenging of a match, but if you slip up and don’t play hard any team can beat you. We just have to sharpen things up in the beginning of the game.”

“We ended the way we wanted to end, now we have to better our last game into the next match,” Garner said.

Friday’s match was Madison’s first at home in nine this season. The Lady Dukes went 4-4 to begin its season, and defeated New Hampshire and Temple to close out its long road trip in last week’s tournament in College Park, Maryland.   

“I think we’ve really traveled great,” Garner said. “We had a really good choice of tournaments, some great competition and now we’re all ready to be home.

Halls led her team throughout its road trip, especially in Madison’s final tournament. In three matches (nine games) the 6’4” senior accounted for 35 kills (3.9 per game) and 13 blocks for the Lady Dukes. For her efforts she was named CAA player of the week, a first in her career.

“Its just good to get recognized for all the hard work that you put in,” Halls said.

Halls picked up where she left off against Charleston Southern, accumulating 11 kills and five assisted blocks in three games. She was not without help from her teammates, though. Lindsay Callahan, Kaitlin McFaddin, and Michelle Johnson recorded 12, 12 and 13 kills, respectively. 

In the tournament night-cap, the Dukes handled Elon in similar fashion, cruising to a straight sets win, 3-0. Junior Lauren Miles led the way with 42 assists and 13 digs, earning her second double-double of the day. 

Madison struggled Saturday though against Florida Gulf Coast, losing the match 0-3. JMU lost 30-19, 30-26, and 30-26 as FGCU improved to 9-1 in its first season of Division I play. The Dukes travel to Liberty for a match Tuesday, where they will look to rebound.