HARRISONBURG, Va. – Old Dominion volleyball played a couple of close sets, but the Monarchs fell 3-0 to James Madison on Friday night at Sinclair Gymnasium. It marked the first of two Sun Belt Conference matches between the two teams this weekend.
Friday also marked the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
"We played nearly two real good sets of volleyball," head coach Fred Chao said afterwards. "We fell short at the end of both, but it was a great effort from the group. The third set was tough in many ways, but the pressure JMU put on us from the service line was more than we could handle. We didn't play the rallies well enough in that set and the results show. But the great thing is that we have another opportunity tomorrow to play a high level team and work at the details of our game."
JMU 3, ODU 0
Myah Conway scored eight kills and Tessa Matti and Hailey Duncan were next with six kills each. Teresa Atilano reached 23 assists on the evening while Ashlynn Belcher and Bailey Burgess served one ace apiece. The Monarchs (7-9, 2-1 Sun Belt) had a strong presence at the net as Duncan and Burgess registered six blocks each while Ashley Peroe and Conway made four each. ODU finished with 13 blocks as a team, compared to 11 by JMU. Jamie Bissmeyer led both sides with a match-high 12 digs.
ODU earned the first three points of the opening set thanks to consecutive blocks and an attack error by the Dukes (10-4, 4-1 Sun Belt). Later in the set, Peroe scored a ball from Atilano to open a 5-1 swing that gave the Monarchs control at 16-13. A JMU service error put ODU in front 23-22, but the hosts claimed the next three points and the set with a 25-23 tally.
An early 4-0 run helped James Madison go up 9-7 in the second set, but ODU pulled even as a Burgess ace knotted the score at 14-14. The freshman from Raleigh, North Carolina converted an attack for another tie at 19-19, but JMU took off with five unanswered points. The Dukes then committed a service error and Burgess and Conway followed with a block, but JMU grabbed the set point for a 25-21 total.
The Monarchs were unable to slow the Dukes offense in Set Three, falling behind 14-4. A pair of kills from Mati and block assists from Burgess and Atilano helped close the gap at 14-8, but a 6-0 run by the home team made it a 23-11 deficit. The sides then traded points as JMU won the match with a 25-13 decision.
Up Next
The teams continue their conference series tomorrow with a 1 p.m. first serve at Sinclair Gymnasium.
Volleyball Drops Road Match at JMU, 3-0
