NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion volleyball team enjoyed a perfect start to the Quest for the Crown on Friday with a pair of four-set wins over Radford and Buffalo at the ODU Volleyball Center.
Hailey Duncan led the attack for the Monarchs (6-5) on Friday, finishing the day with 28 total kills on a .596 attacking percentage. Myah Conway added 27 kills while hitting .373. On the day, ODU averaged 15.3 kills per set, nearly three more than its opponents, while hitting .291 as a team.
"I thought we had a really great day," head coach Fred Chao said. "These four-set matches are very challenging. We get pushed to our limit, mainly from an experience standpoint, but the team is finding a way to get through it. I'm really proud of them for that. These victories are short-lived, but I'm happy with what we've done today."
ODU 3, Radford 1
ODU snapped a 4-4 tie with a 6-0 run aided by a pair of Kira Smith kills to take a 10-4 lead over Radford (1-9) in the first set. The Highlanders cut the lead to 12-10, but Madeline Rudd secured a kill to stop the Radford run before Olivia De Jesus notched another kill to give ODU a 16-11 advantage. Radford continued to hang around and tied the score at 21 on a kill by Emily Dykes. ODU quickly regained the lead on a Duncan kill. After a pair of RU attack errors ODU had match point and finally won the set 25-23 on another Radford attack error.
Radford jumped out to an early led in the second set and maintained the lead until a Rudd kill tied the score at 14 and an attack error by the Highlanders gave the Monarchs their first lead of the set at 15-14. ODU built the lead to 20-17 on an ace and a kill by De Jesus. Radford rallied to tie the score at 22 and scored the final three points to win the second set 25-22.
The third set was back and forth with neither team holding more than a two-point lead until Duncan gave ODU a 16-12 lead with her second kill of the set. A pair of kills by Rudd and two more attack errors by Radford gave ODU a six-point lead at 22-16. The Highlanders scored four-straight to cut the lead to 22-20, but a pair of kills by Conway and one from Smith put the set out of reach giving the Monarchs a 25-21 third set victory.
Like the first three sets, the fourth was tight early until ODU scored three-straight to take a 14-11 lead, highlighted by a kill from Conway. The Monarchs kept the Highlanders at bay and pushed the lead to 19-15 with a kill by De Jesus. ODU made the lead 22-16 on kills by Rudd and Conway, while Madelyn Grunza put the Monarchs at match point with a kill to make the score 24-20. The Highlanders scored a pair but the Monarchs secured the match on a RU service error.
Conway led ODU with a match-high 15 kills, while Duncan had 14 and Rudd finished with 13. Atilano finished with a season-high 53 assists.
ODU 3, Buffalo 1
The Monarchs overcame a loss in the first set to topple Buffalo (6-5). With 568 fans in attendance, the Monarchs hit a season-high .304 at a team in the match and received double-digit kills from Duncan (14), Rudd (12) and Conway (12).
"What a great atmosphere to be able to play with a band here and student-athletes and the whole community," Chao said. "It was awesome. It was a special thing for the team, and we appreciate everybody being here."
The Bulls won the opening set behind a balanced and efficient attack. Buffalo hit .484 as a team in the set and led wire-to-wire. The Bulls broke open a tight set late on, closing out on a 11-6 run. Leading 14-13, Buffalo rattled off three-straight points to take a 17-13 advantage. The two sides traded points until the Bulls scored three consecutive once more to go ahead 22-16. ODU fought back late with back-to-back kills from Duncan and Smith, but an Emma Gielas kill won the set for the visitors.
The Monarchs outlasted Buffalo in a back-and-forth second set that saw 11 ties and six lead changes. Rudd notched six of her 12 kills in the second on eight total swings without committing an error. Neither side ever led by more than two points in the set. Tied 20-20, Old Dominion scored the next two on kills from Rudd and Smith. Those two unanswered points would prove to be the difference and the two sides traded points until Duncan ended the set with a kill, giving the Monarchs the 25-23 win.
With the close win in the second set in hand, ODU seized control of the match with a 25-20 win in the third set. Buffalo led by a 10-7 margin before the Monarchs went on top for good with an extended 7-2 run, highlighted by consecutive service aces from Camilla Tamburini. The Bulls worked to tie the score at 14-all, but ODU responded with three unanswered. Leading 23-20, Old Dominion scored the final two points of the set to take a 2-1 match lead.
Duncan tallied five kills on six attempts (.833) in the fourth set as ODU won 25-18. Despite the set ending with the largest margin of the night, the fourth was close early on and saw 13 ties and seven lead changes. Down 15-14, the Monarchs went ahead for good with a 3-0 run. The teams traded points from there until ODU closed out the match with six-unanswered points. De Jesus sandwiched an attacking error from the Bulls with two kills to make it 22-18. Following another attack error from Buffalo, Atilano punctuated the match with back-to-back service aces to win the match.
Atilano had 45 assists, six digs, two aces and three kills on Friday night. Jordan Daniel set the match high with 19 digs.
The Monarchs are back in action on Saturday when they cap off the Quest for the Crown against Norfolk State at 4 p.m.
Volleyball Picks Up Pair of Four-Set Victories to Start Quest for the Crown
