HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Old Dominion volleyball team forced a fifth set after falling behind 2-0 to Marshall but could not finish off the comeback in a 3-2 loss at Marshall on Saturday.
"Today was a tough challenge," head coach Fred Chao said. "We are disappointed that we didn't complete the comeback, but I am so proud of this team for their efforts. Anyone who doesn't know us would've counted us out after the second set. But despite the start, we worked hard to find our rhythm. In the end, Marshall's serving game did us in, but we now have this experience to grow from."
The Monarchs (11-9, 3-3 Conference USA) quickly fell behind following a 25-21 loss in the first set and a 25-13 setback in the second. ODU won the third set 25-17 after holding the Thundering Herd (8-13, 4-4) to a .054 attack percentage. The Monarchs broke an 11-all deadlock with a 10-2 scoring run to go on top 21-13.
ODU then tied the match at 2-2 with a 25-23 win in the fourth. Trailing 16-10, Old Dominion scored eight of the next nine points to pull ahead 18-17. After going back-and-forth with Marshall over the next three points, ODU put together a 5-1 run to get to set point at 24-20. The home team scored the next three, but a Myah Conway kill halted the Herd's momentum and forced a decisive fifth set.
Marshall hit .429 in the fifth set to win it 15-8 and salvage a split with the Monarchs. ODU took three of the first four points, but the Thundering Herd broke away with a 10-0 run. The Monarchs added intrigue to the set a 4-1 run of their own, but the deficit was too large to overcome.
Alessia Sgherza shared the match-high with 18 kills and tallied a second-consecutive double-double with 17 digs, one off her career-high. Hailey Duncan added a personal-best 16 kills on a .433 hitting percentage, and Kira Smith tallied her second double-double of the season with 14 kills and a career-best 16 digs.
ODU set a new team single-match record with 90 total digs on Saturday. Jordan Daniel shared the match-high with 22 digs, her second match in a row with 20 or more digs. Teresa Atilano also notched a personal-best with 19 digs and seven kills. Atilano handed out 52 assists for the fourth double-double of her career.
The Monarchs return home for a pair of conference matches with FIU on Friday, Oct. 22 (6 p.m.) and Saturday, Oct. 23 (2 p.m.).
Volleyball’s Comeback Falls Short at Marshall
