FAIRFAX, Va. – Old Dominion volleyball secured its fourth-straight victory on Friday as the Monarchs defeated Quinnipiac 3-1 at the George Mason Invitational.
With the win, ODU improves to 7-2 on the season while Quinnipiac falls to 2-7. The match marked the first meeting between the two programs.
“We didn’t play a great match tonight, so I’m glad we were able to pull off the win. It’s nice to be able to call on different players to step onto the court and make a difference. But the real challenge is to manage the expectations of performance with the actual performance that is being produced. But we will keep finding opportunities to learn from each match and get better,” said ODU Head Coach Fred Chao.
ODU 3, Quinnipiac 1
Down 3-2 early in the first set, a Hailee Blankenship kill opened a 5-0 run that gave ODU the lead at 7-3. The Monarchs remained in front until the Bobcats caught up at 15-15. A Myah Conway solo block helped Old Dominion retake control at 23-22, but a Milena Silva kill and a couple of ODU attack errors allowed Quinnipiac to claim a 25-23 decision.
The second set remained close until the Bobcats strung together six straight points to go up 18-14. The Monarchs responded with a 4-0 run of their own, capped off by an Elisa Maggi service ace, to knot the score at 19-19. Quinnipiac won the next two rallies to force an ODU timeout, but the Monarchs came out of the break determined. Kills by Bryanna Jones and Conway tied the set at 21-21. A Conway solo block and a Quinnipiac ball handling error then sent the Bobcats back to their bench. After Conway converted another attack, she teamed up with Emma Schelah for another block as the Monarchs won the set, 25-21.
In the third set, Ashlynn Belcher assisted LeeAnne Lowery to even the score at 15-15. Quinnipiac then committed back-to-back attack errors and burned a timeout. Alexandra Tennon scored a kill to get the Bobcats to within a point at 17-16, but ODU took over from there. A Maggi service ace capped off an 8-1 swing as the Monarchs grabbed another set, 25-17.
ODU opened the fourth set with a 4-0 run, but Quinnipiac was able to catch the Monarchs at 10-10. From there, the two teams went back and forth until Old Dominion jumped ahead 21-19 thanks to a Jones kill, a Quinnipiac attack error and a Conway kill. The teams then traded points the rest of the way, and another Jones kill clinched the match point at 25-23.
Jones matched her season high and paced the offense with 13 kills while hitting for .409. Maggi was close behind her with 11 kills and Conway chipped in 10 kills. Belcher set a new career best with 47 assists and added 12 digs for her third double-double of the season. On defense, Schelah led the team at the net with six blocks followed closely by Conway with five, two of them solo blocks. Blankenship and Lowery recorded three blocks each and Maggi added two. Kilpatrick ended up with 18 kills to lead ODU’s back line.
ODU was held to a .128 hitting percentage in the opening set and a .176 mark in the second, but swung for a .364 clip in the third and a .342 percentage in the fourth. The Monarchs edged the Bobcats in points (69-51), kills (55-43), assists (52-37), blocks (11-1) and digs (62-54). Quinnipiac served more aces, 7-3.
Friday’s match featured 38 ties, 13 of them in the third set, and 17 lead changes.
Up Next
The Monarchs wrap up the Mason Invite tomorrow morning when the face Navy at 11:30 a.m.