NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion volleyball won the opening set, but Georgia Southern grabbed the next three as the Monarchs fell 3-1 on Friday night at the ODU Volleyball Center.
"It's tough to go against a really good team like Georgia Southern," said head coach Fred Chao. "We started off well, we controlled the ball well and we did what we wanted to do. But as the match wore on, they kept a good high level of play and we just started slipping and finding ourselves making errors. That's tough. They put the pressure on us to expose us like that."
Georgia Southern 3, ODU 1
A .419 hitting percentage in the first set helped the Monarchs (9-8, 1-2 Sun Belt) to a 25-18 decision to start the match. The Eagles (12-2, 2-1) were up 5-1 early, but a pair of Bailey Burgess kills and two GS attack errors evened the score at 5-5. Teresa Atilano assisted Alice Munari for another tie at 9-9 before ODU took control and built a 20-13 advantage. The home team then capped off the set as Myah Conway converted an attack and Munari served an ace.
GS got off to another quick start in the next set, leading 6-1 and later 9-3. The Eagles put together a 5-0 run to grow their lead to 16-7 and would go on to even the match with a 25-16 tally.
A block by Conway and Olivia De Jesus tied the third set at 3-3. Ashlynn Belcher assisted Elisa Maggi for another tie at 8-8, but the Eagles earned the next three points to retake control. The sides traded points the rest of the way, and the visitors claimed another set, 25-20.
ODU could not slow down GS in the fourth set, falling behind 8-1 quickly. An Eagle service error ended a 6-0 run by the guests, but they followed with another four-straight points to pull away 12-2. The Monarchs couldn't catch the opposition from there, and the match came to a close with a 25-11 total.
Munari recorded her third double-double of the season with 16 kills and 13 digs. Maggi also scored in double figures with 10 kills and added seven digs to her match totals. Atilano led both teams with 40 assists and is now 10 assists shy of reaching 3,000 for her career. The senior from San Diego, California also had 12 digs for her ninth double-double and made three blocks. Conway tallied eight kills with six digs and three blocks with Burgess, LeeAnne Lowery and De Jesus contributing two blocks each.
The match featured 11 ties (five in the first set and six in the third) with just three lead changes.
Up Next
ODU and Georgia Southern are back tomorrow for the second match in the conference series. First serve from the ODU Volleyball Center is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Monarchs Fall to the Eagles in Four Sets on Friday
