NORFOLK, Va. – The first meeting between Old Dominion volleyball and William & Mary proved to be a classic as the Monarchs rallied from a 16-7 deficit in the fourth set to defeat the Tribe, 3-1 on Tuesday night.
Myah Conway scored 17 kills and Bryanna Jones followed with 14 to pace the attack. Teresa Atilano finished the night with a 41-assist, 11-dig double-double and added one kill, two aces and six blocks to her totals. Kira Smith served three aces, Elisa Maggi chipped in seven kills with two blocks and six digs, and Kate Kilpatrick ended up with 16 digs.
"Everyone knows we're going to lean on her," head coach Fred Chao said of Conway. "When we really needed her, and we really needed to lean on her, she came through. She kept swinging and then she was getting blocks."
ODU's presence at the net proved to be a big factor in the match as the Monarchs (3-0) edged the Tribe (2-2) in blocking, 23-16. Bailey Burgess and LeeAnne Lowery led the effort with eight each, followed by Atilano and Conway with six, and Olivia De Jesus with five.
Asked what he liked most from his team, Chao replied, "The grit and the resilience. We were down, our backs were against the wall and the people we needed to start stepping up, they really did."
ODU 3, William & Mary 1
The opening set remained close until a W&M service error gave ODU the lead, 6-5. A kill by Jones, an ace from Smith and a couple of Tribe attack errors gave the Monarchs some room at 10-5. The visitors pulled even at 18-18 and went up 22-21 later in the set, but Atilano assisted Conway on a kill to even the score. A pair of ODU blocks and a kill from Conway clinched the set for the Monarchs, 25-22.
The second set was also a close affair. ODU used a 6-1 swing to take a 15-11 ODU lead, but the Tribe earned the next three points to close the gap. W&M then used a late 5-1 run for a 26-24 decision and knot the match at a set apiece.
Set Three saw the Monarchs trailing 21-18. However, blocks from Atilano and Lowery, a solo block by Jones and an ace by Smith highlighted a 5-0 run as the Monarchs wrestled back control at 23-21. The Tribe evened the score at 23-23, but Jones converted a pair of attacks as ODU won the set.
W&M jumped out to an early 9-3 advantage in the fourth set and scored six unanswered points to pull away, 16-7. The Monarchs refused to back down though as four kills by Conway and a pair of blocks by Lowery cut the Tribe's lead to 19-18. The set saw four more ties from there as the teams were locked at 25-25. Lowery and Jones then came up with a critical block before Conway put away a ball from Kilpatrick to seal the win for the Monarchs.
Up Next
The Monarchs will be in Annapolis, Maryland this Friday and Saturday to play in the Kristen Dickmann Invitational, hosted by Navy. ODU opens the tournament with a 4 p.m. match versus Maryland on Friday. On Saturday, the team will face Utah Valley at 11 a.m., followed by a 7 p.m. meeting with the Midshipmen.
Volleyball Improves to 3-0 with Four-Set Win Over the Tribe
