Old Dominion (13-15, 5-9 Sun Belt) at Southern Miss (11-14, 6-8 Sun Belt)
Match Info – Friday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. EST
Saturday, Nov. 11 at 12 p.m. EST
Location – Southern Miss Wellness Center (Hattiesburg, Miss.)
Watch – ESPN+ (Friday | Saturday)
Live Stats – Friday | Saturday
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion volleyball closes out the regular season with a pair of matches at Southern Miss this Friday and Saturday. The first match of the Sun Belt series is scheduled for a 7 p.m. EST start inside the Southern Miss Wellness Center. The teams will then play again at 12 p.m. EST on Saturday.
Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available.
Series History
ODU and Southern Miss met each other for the first time last season, with the Monarchs hosting the Golden Eagles on Nov. 10-11 to wrap up the 2022 regular season. The visitors edged ODU 18-16 in the fifth set to win the first meeting, but the Monarchs responded with a 3-1 decision the next day to split the series.
About ODU
The Monarchs (13-15, 5-9 Sun Belt) earned a pair of straight-set victories over Georgia State last weekend at the ODU Volleyball Center. On Thursday, ODU combined to hit .412 as a team while holding the Panthers to a .082 hitting percentage. The match featured just one tie and had only one lead change, both in the third set. Friday's match saw ODU outhit GSU .333 to .042 as the Monarchs celebrated Senior Day with a win.
ODU is currently fourth in the league's East Division and is just ahead of Marshall and App State, who are 4-10 in conference play. ODU and Marshall both went 4-8 against their divisional opponents.
Conway ranks first in the Sun Belt and ninth nationally in points with 478.5. She's also first in the league and 11th in the country in kills with 418. The junior from Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania needs another 19 kills to reach 1,000 for her career. Atilano has recorded 14 double-doubles this season and ranks third in the SBC in both service aces (40) and total assists (990). She's also approaching a career milestone, needing five more digs to reach 700.
Alice Munari has scored 172 kills and Elisa Maggi is third on the team with 161 kills. On defense, Kate Kilaptrick and Atilano own 323 and 237 digs, respectively. Bailey Burgess is ODU's leader in blocks with 101, 22 of them solo. Following her are Conway with 87 and LeeAnne Lowery with 78.
The Monarchs enter the series ranked second in the Sun Belt in both service aces (167) and total blocks (251). ODU is also third in the conference in kills (1,303) and assists (1,206).
About Southern Miss
The Golden Eagles hosted Louisiana last week and split their series with the Ragin' Cajuns. The first match went to USM by a final of 3-1 on Thursday, but Louisiana bounced back with a 3-0 win on Friday.
Mia Wesley is the team's primary attacker with 326 kills and also leads Southern Miss with 385 points and 45 service aces. Cara Atkinson is at 172 kills and Cailin Demps has 138 kills. Setters Franky Panunzio and Hayden Riddle have combined for 625 assists. Libero Megan Harris has the team high in digs with 378. At the net, Atkinson has made 57 blocks, Ari Barksdale has recorded 54 and Reagan Leinen 51.
Wesley currently ranks ninth in the country with 11.99 attacks per set. She's also 15th in aces per set (0.53) and 25th in service aces. As a team, the Golden Eagles rank third in the Sun Belt in attacks per set (36.43) and digs per set (15.81).
Up Next
The 2023 Sun Belt Conference Championship is scheduled for November 15-19 at the Foley Event Center in Foley, Alabama.
ODU Volleyball Closes Out the Regular Season at Southern Miss
