FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Old Dominion volleyball team wrapped up the final day of the Northern Arizona Invitational with a 3-0 loss to tournament host Northern Arizona on Saturday, Aug. 27 at the Rolle Activity Center.
"From a competitive effort standpoint, we were better today," said head coach Fred Chao afterwards. "We just couldn't earn enough points offensively. Our defense worked harder and gave us more chances, but we often fell short of scoring."
Northern Arizona 3, ODU 0
Teresa Atilano recorded a 29-assist, 12-dig double-double in the loss. The San Diego, California native scored four kills while swinging for a .364 clip and added two service aces and two blocks to her totals. Gerren Tomlin finished with a team-best eight kills, Madeline Rudd was next with six, and Hailey Duncan, Myah Conway and Bailey Burgess chipped in five each. Defensively, Burgess made three blocks, Duncan added two and Anna Burkhardt led both teams with 13 digs.
ODU found itself in a 5-1 deficit to start the opening set, but a pair of Kira Smith kills helped close the gap at 7-4. NAU pulled away though with its second 4-0 run to go up 12-5. The Monarchs (0-3) were unable to catch the Lumberjacks (1-2) from there and the tournament hosts captured the first set, 25-18.
Down 19-14 in Set Two, Atilano scored a kill to open a 4-0 spurt. She capped off the run with a service ace as ODU was back within a point at 19-18. NAU pulled ahead 24-21 late, but Tomlin converted three-straight attempts to knot the score at 24-24. Unfortunately, the next two points went to the Lumberjacks as they took a two-set lead.
The Monarchs could not slow down NAU in the third set. After Atilano assisted Conway to put ODU in front 5-4, the Lumberjacks erupted for an 11-1 swing for a 19-7 advantage. The margin proved too much to overcome as ODU dropped the decisive set, 25-12.
"The opponents we faced this weekend shed light on our deficiencies and they start in our practice gym," continued Chao. "We will work hard to address them and prepare for our next match."
Next up for the Monarchs is a trip to Blacksburg, Virginia this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 2-3 for the Virginia Tech Invitational. ODU has a twin billing on the first day of the tournament with a 10 a.m. match versus Marist followed by a 5 p.m. tilt with Coppin State. The team then wraps up play against the Hokies on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Volleyball Drops Match at Northern Arizona, 3-0
