NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion volleyball and James Madison resumed their Royal Rivalry on Friday night, with the Monarchs falling to the Dukes 3-0 at the ODU Volleyball Center.
With the loss, ODU falls to 9-10 overall and 1-4 in Sun Belt play.
"I thought we showed up and James Madison is a really good team," said head coach Fred Chao. "We could have come out flat and be defeated, or come out the way we did. To our credit, I think we played really well and put together an offensive presence that we hadn't had in a little while."
James Madison 3, ODU 0
The Dukes (12-4, 5-0) scored two kills to start the match, but ODU responded with a Teresa Atilano kill, a block by Myah Conway and Olivia De Jesus, and an Alice Munari service ace to pull ahead, 3-2. The opening set remained close until JMU used a 4-1 swing to swell their lead to 16-11. The visitors then outscored the Monarchs 6-2 to close out the set at 25-16.
Three kills by Tessa Mati helped build an early 6-2 ODU lead to begin the second set. However, JMU earned four-straight points to wrestle away control, 10-9. Atilano then assisted Munari to knot the set at 10-10, but another 4-0 run by the Dukes made it a 14-10 JMU lead. A block by Bailey Burgess and Conway cut the deficit to 18-16, but that was as close as the Monarchs would get as JMU grabbed another set, 25-19.
A Kate Kilpatrick service ace tied the third set at 4-4. After JMU went up 7-4, a Bryanna Jones kill and a bad set by the Dukes had the Monarchs back within a point at 8-7. A 5-1 swing allowed the visitors to create some separation, 17-10. Three consecutive kills by Burgess, Mati and Conway trimmed the JMU lead to 20-16. The sides then match efforts the rest of the way as the Dukes closed out the match with a 25-19 decision.
Conway scored 11 kills and Mati and Burgess followed with seven kills each. Atilano finished the match with 26 assists, nine digs and three blocks. Kilpatrick tallied a team-high 13 digs, Burgess recorded five blocks, and Conway added three blocks.
"I think we're finding our groove again," continued Chao. "That's the grind, and really trying to get our way through that, I think we're hopefully on the other side of that and starting to play some good volleyball again."
The match drew a solid turnout of 578 fans on what was also Fred Chao Campers Night.
"What an awesome crowd tonight," said Chao. "Such a special volleyball community to be a part of. We really appreciate the clubs and campers that came out."
Up Next
ODU and JMU are back on the court tomorrow, with first serve from the ODU Volleyball Center scheduled for 1 p.m.
ODU Volleyball Drops 3-0 Match to JMU on Friday
