MORGANTOWN, W.VA. – It was a great start to the Mountaineer Invitational for Old Dominion volleyball as the Monarchs earned a pair of 3-0 wins over West Virginia and Robert Morris on Thursday at the WVU Coliseum.
The win over the tournament hosts also marked the program's first against a Power 5 opponent.
"We had a great day. We executed at a good level and fought through some tough stretches. We played most of the rallies really well and made important adjustments throughout the match. I'm really proud of how we stepped up to the mark today," said head coach Fred Chao.
ODU 3, West Virginia 0
WVU was ahead 4-3 in the first set, but multiple errors and a solo block by Bailey Burgess allowed the Monarchs (7-5) to jump ahead, 7-4. A few points later, a pair of Alice Munari kills highlighted a 5-1 swing that extended ODU's lead, 12-6. The Monarchs stayed in front from there and went on to claim the opening set, 25-18.
Old Dominion trailed 14-10 in Set Two, but a block by Myah Conway and Olivia De Jesus opened up a 5-0 run that put the Monarchs in front. West Virginia tied the score at 15-15, but ODU responded with six unanswered points to pull away, 21-15. Munari then served an ace for the set point at 25-17.
The Mountaineers (4-6) led 4-0 at the start of the third set. However, two kills by Elisa Maggi, a Munari ace and a WVU ball handling error gave ODU control, 9-7. The sides traded the lead and the home team was up 21-20, but the Monarchs strung together four straight points to retake the lead. WVU got back to within 24-23, but a kill from Conway sealed the victory as ODU spoiled the home opener for the Mountaineers.
Conway finished with a team-high 11 kills and swung for a .526 clip. Maggi hit for .318 and contributed eight kills, and Burgess hit .600 with six kills. Teresa Atilano gathered 28 assists while serving three aces, Munari served two, and Maggi, Ashlynn Belcher and Kate Kilpatrick served one each. Burgess led both teams with nine blocks (three solo) to match her career best, and Conway followed with five blocks. Kilpatrick led ODU's back row with eight digs.
The Monarchs outhit the Mountaineers .333 to 210 and also led the tournament hosts in aces (8-2) and blocks (12-4).
ODU 3, Robert Morris 0
ODU raced out to a 10-3 lead to start its match with the Colonials (3-7), who were coming off a straight-set loss to North Dakota State. A 9-0 push by the Monarchs put the set out of reach at 21-7. RMU finally scored a kill to halt the run, but the next four points went to ODU for a 25-8 tally.
With the second set tied at 2-2, a 5-1 swing put ODU ahead, 7-3. The Monarchs then distanced themselves later in the set, outscoring the Colonials 6-1 to take a 21-11 advantage. From there, both sides traded points as ODU went up two sets to none with a 25-15 decision.
Robert Morris finally woke up in the third set as the Colonials were ahead 6-2 and then 9-4. The Monarchs were able to knot the score at 21-21 as Conway converted an attack. After five more ties, Burgess and Conway scored back-to-back kills to complete the sweep with a 28-26 final.
Conway tallied 15 kills and hit .481 in the match, Maggi and Munari were next with six kills each, and Atilano ended up with 40 assists. Burgess made six blocks (three solo) and Maggi, Conway and De Jesus had three each. Kilpatrick totaled 13 digs with Munari following her with eight digs.
ODU hit .337 in the match, compared to a .105 hitting percentage for RMU. The Monarchs also led the Colonials in points (59-37), kills (46-33), aces (2-1), blocks (11-3), assists (41-28) and digs (44-35).
Up Next
ODU returns to the WVU Coliseum tomorrow for a noon match versus NDSU.
Monarchs Open Mountaineer Invitational With Sweeps of West Virginia and Robert Morris
