Kate Whitmire of Alexandria Earns CAA Regular-Season Title With JMU Volleyball

2016 Nov 15

Kate Whitmire of Alexandria has locked up the 2016 Colonial Athletic Association regular-season title as a member of the James Madison volleyball team.

After opening the conference slate with a 3-5 record, the Dukes notched eight consecutive league wins to close the regular season with an 11-5 conference record and 19-10 ledger overall to earn the regular-season title outright, receiving the No. 1 seed in next week's 2016 CAA Championship.

JMU has finished on top of the regular-season standings in back-to-back season, the first time the program has accomplished this feat since the 1998 and 1999 seasons. Under Head Coach Lauren Steinbrecher, JMU has reached the CAA Championship seven consecutive season and has made trips to the semifinals in five of the seven trips.

The 2016 CAA Championship is hosted by UNCW in Wilmington, N.C. on Friday, Nov. 18 through Sunday, Nov. 20. The Dukes have earned a first-round bye into Saturday's semifinals and will face the winner of the Hofstra-Towson quarterfinal at 2 p.m. Sunday's championship contest is slated for a noon start. JMU is looking for its first tournament title since the 2000 season.