HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Old Dominion volleyball opened up its final road trip of the regular season with a win as the Monarchs defeated Southern Miss 3-1 on Friday night.
It was a historic night for the team as the 14th win of the season marked a new program record. Additionally, junior Myah Conway became the first player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills. Needing 19 coming into the match, the Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania native finished the night with 21 and added five digs, three blocks and three service aces to her totals.
"I'm so proud of Myah for all the work she's put in to earn her 1,000 kills," head coach Fred Chao said afterwards. "Behind each one there were more practice reps that guided her development along the way."
ODU 3, Southern Miss 1
The Monarchs (14-15, 6-9 Sun Belt) earned the first three points of the opening set and strung together a 6-0 run to build an early 9-1 advantage. However, the Golden Eagles (11-15, 6-9) clawed their way back into the set and evened the score at 14-14. USM later went up 23-20, but a pair of errors by the hosts and a kill by Conway knotted the set yet again. ODU served set point three times, but Southern Miss came away with a 31-29 decision.
Down 6-5 in the second set, a solo block from Teresa Atilano opened up a 4-0 run that gave the Monarchs control at 9-6. USM was able to catch up at 19-19 and jumped ahead 22-20, but another kill from Conway and two more by Elisa Maggi wrestled away the lead at 23-22. Neither side could close out the set until Atilano assisted Conway to put ODU in front, 30-29. Bailey Burgess and Myah Conway then made a block as another 31-29 tally evened the match at a set apiece.
The Monarchs found themselves up 5-1 at the beginning of the third set, but lost the lead as five-straight points made it 8-6 in favor of the Golden Eagles. Both teams continued to jockey back-and-forth until ODU used a 6-1 run to take the momentum and the lead as a Kate Kilpatrick service ace made it 22-19. USM earned the next point, but Conway scored a kill and followed with an ace before USM committed an attack error to close out the set at 25-20.
The home team put the pressure on ODU at the start of the fourth set, jumping out to a 10-5 lead. A pair of Maggi aces highlighted a 6-0 response that made it 12-11, ODU. Southern Miss put together a 5-0 charge to go ahead 17-15, but again ODU had an answer as Olivia De Jesus converted an attack, Atilano served an ace and Conway added a kill. The set would see another five ties as a Maggi kill knotted things up at 24-24. Conway and Alice Munari then sealed the win with back-to-back kills for a 26-24 total.
Maggi turned in her fourth double-double of the season with 10 kills and 13 digs, Munari also posted her fourth with 10 kills and 14 digs, and Atilano tallied double-double number 15 with 42 assists and 18 digs. Maggi also served three aces and Atilano contributed a pair. On defense, Kilpatrick set a new best of 23 digs. De Jesus led both teams with six blocks, Burgess followed with four, and Atilano made three.
"Our block and dig defense was solid tonight," continued Chao. "The stat line shows an ace-to-error ratio, but doesn't show the pressure we put on their passing, which allowed our block defense to be a factor. It was a hard-fought match."
There were a total of 43 ties and 24 lead changes in the match. Every set but the third had double-digit ties, to include 13 in the second.
Up Next
ODU and USM are back in the Southern Miss Wellness Center tomorrow for the final match of the regular season. First serve is scheduled for 12 p.m. EST.
Conway Eclipses 1,000 Career Kills as ODU Wins 3-1 at Southern Miss
