Under The Radar: A Redshirt Diary

Ups And Downs

Monday's updated rankings had the Dukes come in at 22nd in the AVCA Coaches poll and 25th in the RPI, a testament to their 24-2 record, which was fifth best in Division I for winning percentage. The team was in quite a good mood as they traveled down to Richmond on Tuesday night for their final non-conference match of the season, taking on Virginia Commonwealth in, coincidentally, the same arena where Savannah's Kellam Knights beat Liv's Ocean Lakes Dolphins for the 2016 6A high school state championship. After the Dukes and the Rams split the first two sets (25-19 for JMU, 25-16 for VCU), the visitors struggled through most of the third, eventually relying on their stacked serving lineup of Caroline, Rebecca, and Savannah to rally for a 25-22 win and a two-sets-to-one lead. Lauren chose to lead off with those three in succession in Set Four, allowing the Dukes to get out to a 8-3 lead that they would stretch to 13-6 by the time Caroline served again, providing enough cushion for JMU to coast to a 25-18 fourth-set win and a three-sets-to-one triumph over their in-state rival from the Atlantic 10.

Wednesday brought the news that Lauren and the players had been dreading since the beginning of preseason, as James Madison President Jonathan Alger and Athletic Director Jeff Bourne accepted the Sun Belt Conference's invitation of membership in anticipation of a positive vote on Friday by the General Assembly's Intercollegiate Athletics Review Commission. In response, the CAA provisionally barred all JMU athletic teams from competing in conference tournaments and removed four which the school was slated to host this year from their campus. As a result of the players' somber moods when they arrived at Godwin that afternoon, the day's practice was postponed until Thursday morning at 9am, after which the team would leave Harrisonburg on their weekend road trip to Elon and William and Mary. 

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November 4, 2021

At 11:30am on Thursday, the James Madison University women's volleyball team departed from outside Godwin Hall for Elon, NC ahead of their match against the Phoenix tomorrow evening. Once the bus had gotten onto I-81, Lauren stood up and gave some announcements.

Lauren: Before we get TOO far down the road, I wanted to make you aware of a few things. First, we will be taking our meal stop shortly at the Pizza Hut in Staunton. Apparently someone in the athletic department knows the manager and was able to book us a section of the restaurant. Plan an hour for that. We'll be making a "stretch your legs" stop in Martinsville give or take 3:30, with us getting to Elon by 5:00 at that rate. Next, roommate assignments. I put you together in pairings that made sense given the two cities on this trip and where all of you are from.  With no further ado, here we go: Liv and Savannah; Sarah and Elizabeth; Julia and Cameryn; Savanah and Chloe; Jaydyn and Miette; Hannah and Emma; Sophia and Annie; Danielle and Rebecca; Madilyn and Caroline.

Lauren: We are staying at the Country Inn and Suites in Burlington tonight and Friday night and the Hilton Garden Inn Williamsburg Saturday night, in case your peeps are coming to one or both matches and need to find lodging.

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Liv and Chloe were seated across from Savannah and Rebecca in the middle of the bus. Wanting to get the team's trio of coastal players together for some conversation ahead of their visit to Williamsburg (Chloe's hometown and an hour northwest of Virginia Beach), Liv asked the other three if they wished to have a little pow-wow in the back. Once there and seated, the discussion started.

Liv: Sunday will be the first time we'll be playing at William and Mary since 2019, which was a night Savannah and I would like to never live through again.

Chloe: I'm worried as to what kind of reception I'll receive from people I probably went to high school with and who have known me for a good portion of my life, now that I'm the enemy.