NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion (7-10, 4-8 C-USA) volleyball team fell to No. 18 Western Kentucky (18-0, 12-0 C-USA) in three sets (25-6, 25-16, 25-10) on Saturday afternoon at the ODU Volleyball Center.
Alessia Sgherza led ODU in kills, knocking down five. Hailey Duncan put together three kills to lead the Monarchs defensively.
"We didn't show well today, but that had a lot to do with the intense pressure WKU put us under from the first serve," said ODU head coach Fred Chao. "They had access to power from the service line and every attacker. Yesterday we put up a better serve and pass game, and that allowed us to rally and win points. Today we weren't able to earn those points. Overall, the series showed us how well we can competent times, and also showed us the gap our new program has to bridge."
The first set went in favor of the Hilltoppers, 25-6. An 18-0 run early in the first frame provided the difference for WKU. A Hilltopper attack error put ODU back on the board to trail 19-2. WKU closed the first game with a 6-4 run to lead the match, 1-0.
ODU played the second set much closer, 25-16. The Monarchs played from behind most of the set, trailing 9-2 early on, but ODU clawed back, compiling a 10-5 scoring run to cut the deficit to two. The Hilltoppers responded with a kill to spark a 5-2 scoring run and force an ODU timeout as WKU led, 19-14. The Hilltoppers dominated the rest of the way, holding ODU to just two more points.
The Hilltoppers opened the third set with a 4-1 lead. After a 7-3 WKU scoring run, ODU utilized a timeout. Coming out of the break, Sgherza delivered a kill to close the deficit to six but WKU collected four unanswered points to lead 15-5. The Hilltoppers closed out action with a 10-5 run, which was too much for ODU to overcome.
With Saturday's defeat, the Monarchs did not qualify for the C-USA Tournament. The top four teams from the East Division and West Division earned trips to the tournament, hosted by Southern Mississippi.
Up Next
ODU will welcome West Virginia to the ODU Volleyball Center on Tuesday, March 30 for its season finale. The match will begin at 5 p.m.
Volleyball Suffers Three-Set Loss to No. 18 WKU
