NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion volleyball team completed the series sweep of Florida Atlantic Monday afternoon with a 3-1 (25-13, 25-23, 15-25, 25-22) victory over the Owls.
"We continue to improve and it showed in the first two sets," said ODU head coach Fred Chao. "Some fatigue set in and we were a little slow to do our jobs and moving. We were not recognizing our cues as well. FAU dialed up their serves and it took us a while to respond in the serve and pass game, but eventually we did, so I'm very proud of the team for that."
The opening set featured a dominant performance by ODU, opening a 12-2 lead over FAU, fueled by Alessia Sgherza, Ashley Peroe and Hailey Duncan kills and back-to-back Teresa Atilano service aces. ODU kept the foot on the pedal offensively, opening to a double-digit lead of 20-8. The Owls attempted to counter with back-to-back points but a 5-3 run to end the first set lifted ODU over FAU, 25-13.
ODU (6-4, 4-2 C-USA) began set two with a slim 7-4 lead over the Owls. Multiple Monarch errors and a pair of FAU kills saw the Owls come back and even up the second set, 10-10. Both teams fired off points in a back-and-forth affair and remained tied, 22-22, until two Duncan kills and an Owl attack error propelled ODU to a 25-23 win in the second set. ODU went into the break leading the C-USA match, 2-0.
The Owls came ready in the third set, posting a 9-3 lead to open the frame, forcing Chao to take a timeout. ODU pieced together an 8-3 run to get within one point of FAU, 12-11. The Owls answered midway through the set, extending its lead out to 18-12. ODU notched just three more points in the third set to fall, 25-15 in set three.
Set four was another intense battle. FAU (1-6, 1-4 C-USA) managed to open to another advantage over the Monarchs, 6-3 early on. However, ODU used two FAU errors, an Olivia De Jesus block, a Madeline Rudd kill and a Jamie Bissmeyer service ace to even up the match, 7-7. The rest of the fourth set featured nine ties, but a Duncan kill assisted by Atilano and two consecutive FAU errors helped produce ODU's fourth-set win, 25-22.
Duncan led the way offensively for the Monarchs, knocking down a season-high 12 kills. Peroe paced the way with 13 digs, a season-high for the redshirt freshman. The Virginia Beach, Virginia native also hammered down 11 kills.
Up Next
ODU will wrap up its homestand as they welcome UNCW to the ODU Volleyball Center on Wednesday, March 3. First serve is slated for 5 p.m. and will be streamed on CUSA.tv.
Volleyball Tops FAU, 3-1 for Series Sweep
