HARRISONBURG, Virginia – The No. 22 ranked Washington State Cougars began the 2019 campaign in the win column Friday morning, with a three set road victory over James Madison.

Set scores from the match were: 25-20, 25-13, and 25-15 in favor of WSU (1-0).

The Cougars, fresh off a Sweet Sixteen run, showed the Dukes of JMU (0-1) they were plenty confident heading into this new season, building a 7-2 run right out of the gate in this contest. A pair of service aces from Alexis Dirige, accompanied by kills from Jocelyn Urias, Alexcis Lusby, and Pia Timmer helped fuel WSU out to the early lead. Washington State was able to maintain the lead throughout most of this opening set, however the Dukes fought back with multiple small runs of their own to knot the score up at 20-20. Multiple newcomers stepped up for the Cougars to record five straight points with kills from Reagan Cooper, Lusby, and Timmer to claim set one at 25-20 overall.

The second set of play was all Washington State as a 12-2 run midway through the action summed up the dominate play of the Cougars. WSU flooded the stat sheet during this second set, especially during this run, from the multiple kills from Timmer, Lusby, and Magda Jehlárová, to an ace from Penny Tusa. There was never any question from WSU in this set, as a 4-0 run capped off the victory with two straight kills from Jehlárová at 25-13.

WSU found themselves down 9-7 to the Dukes early in the third set of the contest, until a 5-0 run propelled the Cougars into the drivers' seat. Kills from Penny Tusa, and Lusby anchored the scoring, and an additional run 6-1 from WSU solidified the victory late in the set with a 20-13 advantage.  

STAT OF THE MATCH
Senior Jocelyn Urias led the Cougars in the kill category with 10 overall, and recording a hitting percentage of .375 on the day.  

INTO THE TWITTER-VERSE

COUGS WIN! Dominate sweep is the best way to start off the new season!#GoCougs | #CougsVsEverybody pic.twitter.com/Ja8yx5bn6F

— Cougar Volleyball (@WSUCougarVB) August 30, 2019

FINAL: A pair of true freshmen Cougs look strong on the front line in first career appearances as #22 @WSUCougarVB rolls to season-opening win at CAA favorite JMU.

Magda Jehlárová : 8/2/12 (.500), 2 B
Alexcis Lusby: 7/1/10 (.600), 1.5 B, 2 D

— VB Scores (@NCAAVBscores) August 30, 2019

MATCH NOTES

• A pair of freshmen, Magda Jehlárová, and Pia Timmer, helped fuel the Cougars to victory with eight kills each during the match.
• Senior Ashley Brown continued her offensive leadership on the court in 2019 with a match-high 27 assists.
• Senior Alexis Dirige posted a match-high 14 digs against the Dukes, and added two services aces as well.