FOLEY, Ala. (JMU Athletics) – James Madison sophomore middle Ayen Nhial tallied a school-record 16 blocks as part of a historic night for the Dukes’ block, as JMU defeated the Troy Trojans in four sets (26-24, 25-14, 11-25, 25-23) on Friday night at the Foley Sports Tourism Center in the Quarterfinals of the 2025 Sun Belt Championship.
For JMU (21-8), the 23.0 blocks are the most in a match in the rally-scoring era and the most since the Dukes tallied 23 against William & Mary in 2018. Meanwhile, Troy (10-16) hit just .075 , with 32 attacking and 12 service errors.
In addition to Nhial’s 16 blocks, Melisa Ilter accounted for a career-high 10.0 blocks. Anna Wilson and Ana Toumazatos also pitched in on the block, with six and five, respectively. Offensively, Kennedy Louisell tallied 15 kills, while Addie Norman recorded 11 kills and hit .526 (11-1-19).
For Troy, Amiah Butler had 16 kills to lead the Trojans. Ella Broadhead recorded six kills and hit .455, while Olivia Kwiatkowski led Troy with four blocks.
How It Happened
First Set: James Madison 26-24
• Troy led 15-14 at the media timeout and built a 21-16 lead on a service ace from Jaci Mesa, forcing a JMU timeout.
• Trailing 23-16, the Dukes scored seven straight to tie the score at 23-23. The Trojans briefly halted the run with a Sydney Austin Kill, but a kill from Anna Wilson gave JMU the win in the first.
• JMU ended the set on a 10-1 run.
Second Set: James Madison 25-14
• After ending the set on a 10-1 run, the Dukes opened the second with five straight points to force a quick Troy timeout.
• The Trojans cut it to six (12-6), but the Dukes pushed the lead back to nine on a block from Ana Toumazatos and Nhial.
• JMU cruised to the win in the set, hitting .429 and registering 10 blocks.
Third Set: Troy 25-11
• Troy jumped to a 14-3 lead in the third and never let JMU get within striking distance, holding the Dukes to a .000 hitting percentage to take its first set of the match.
Fourth Set: James Madison 25-23
• Toumazatos and Wilson combined for a block to give JMU an 8-4 lead in the fourth, prompting a Troy timeout.
• After JMU took a 16-10 lead, Troy chipped away at the lead and cut it to two (16-14) on a Louisell attacking error.
• Troy used a 6-2 run to trim the JMU lead to 23-22 and tied the score at 23 on an ace from Sydney Austin.
• After a JMU timeout, a Louisell kill and a Troy error were enough to give JMU the win.
Match Notes
• JMU improved to 4-0 against Troy, with three of the four matchups coming in the Sun Belt Championship.
• JMU’s 23 blocks are a program record for a four-set match in the rally-scoring era (since 2001), besting the previous record of 18.0 versus Delaware on Nov. 23, 2019.
• Nhial’s 16.0 blocks in four sets are the most for a player in Sun Belt Championship history, besting the previous record of 13, set by Alice Borden of New Mexico State vs. Western Kentucky on Nov. 20, 2004.
• Nhial’s 16 blocks surpassed the previous JMU four-set single-match school record of 13, set by Kate Fuchs on Oct. 6, 2002, versus Hofstra.
• The 16 blocks were the most recorded by any player in program history, passing Lizzy Briones (15) against Towson on Nov. 21, 2014.
• Since joining the Sun Belt Conference in 2022, JMU has appeared in the semifinals in three of the four seasons.
Up Next
JMU will take on South Alabama tomorrow at 6 p.m. ET (5 p.m. CT) in the Sun Belt Conference Championship semifinals.
— JMU Athletics —
