VCU DROPS HEARTBREAKER TO JAMES MADISON, 3-2
9-24-06
Box Score

HARRISONBURG , Va. – Despite 20 kills from sophomore outside hitter Ana Luiza Bernardes de Borja (Florianopolis, Brazil/Colegio Geracao) (pictured) and 22 team blocks, Virginia Commonwealth University couldn’t dig itself out of a two-game hole in a 3-2 (30-26, 30-28, 28-30, 23-30, 15-12) loss to James Madison Sunday at Sinclair Gymnasium.

VCU has lost four straight to fall to 6-7 overall and 2-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association. JMU raises its record to 9-5 and 4-2 in league action.

De Borja, who hit .333 for the match, provided seven block assists for the Rams, while also adding 10 digs for her second double-double of the season. Seniors Melissa Peterson (Ganado, Ariz./Arizona Western College) and Renata Salvatori (Londrina, Brazil/Arizona Western College) had nine total blocks apiece for the Black and Gold.

Allyson Halls had 21 kills on a .310 hitting percentage and libero Lena Pierson dug 27 balls to lead the Dukes’ charge.

After rallying to tie the match 2-2, VCU looked poised for the victory early in the deciding fifth game. After Madison’s Hanna Porterfield knocked home a kill to make it 2-1 in favor of the Dukes, the Rams ripped off the next four points, two coming on de Borja kills.

However, Halls promptly rammed home five kills in a 10-0 JMU run to put the Dukes in control, 10-5.

VCU pulled to within two points three times, the last at 14-12 on a de Borja kill, but each time JMU had the answer. Porterfield ended the Rams’ comeback hopes with a match-clinching kill.

After dropping the first two games of the match, de Borja and Peterson sparked the VCU comeback in Game Three, a 30-28 victory. De Borja fired four kills and recorded three block assists, while Peterson had a game-high four rejections for the Rams, who out blocked James Madison, 8.0 to 4.0 in the stanza.

VCU put together its most complete performance in Game Four, hitting .220 on the way to a 30-23 win to knot the match. The Rams took an 8-7 lead and never trailed again as Peterson and de Borja led the way with six and five kills, respectively.

The Black and Gold return home to face William & Mary on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. at the Alltel Pavilion at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.