Old Dominion (11-2, 0-0 Sun Belt) at Georgia Southern (10-1, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Match Info – Friday, Sep. 27 at 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sep. 28 at 2 p.m.
Location – Hanner Fieldhouse (Statesboro, Ga.)
Watch – ESPN+ (Friday | Saturday)
Live Stats – Friday | Saturday
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion volleyball is headed to Statesboro, Georgia to take on Georgia Southern in their first Sun Belt conference series of the season.
The first match against the Eagles will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 27 while the second will begin at 2 p.m. on Sept. 28. Both matches will be played at Hanner Fieldhouse and will be streamed on ESPN+. Live stats will also be available.
Series History
This week’s matchup will mark just the third and fourth time that the Monarchs and the Eagles have met on the court. While the two teams were supposed to play each other for the first time in 2022, Hurricane Ian led to the match being canceled.
These two teams played last season in Norfolk on Sept. 29-30. The Monarchs fell to the Eagles in both matches with final scores of 3-1 and 3-0. In the first match, ODU took the first set with a 25-18 score, but Georgia Southern responded with a 25-16 victory in the second set. The Monarchs fell short in the third set with a 25-20 score and were unable to come back as the Eagles won the fourth set 25-11. In the second match, the Monarchs were once again close to winning the first set, which ended 25-23 in Georgia Southern’s favor, but they would go on to fall in the second and third sets with 25-15 and 25-18 respective scores.
Between both matches, the Eagles led in total kills (98-79), assists (94-77), and digs (113-97), though Teresa Atilano had the most assists by either team with 69 total.
About ODU
The Monarchs (11-2) are looking to continue their hot streak this weekend after going 3-0 in the Old Dominion Invitational, courtesy of 3-0 sweeps against Rutgers and UMES, as well as a hard-fought 3-2 win over Radford. Myah Conway, Hailee Blankenship, and Kate Kilpatrick were named to the All-Tournament team, with Conway also winning tournament MVP. The Monarch’s win streak is now up to eight.
Conway and Ashlynn Belcher lead the Sun Belt conference in kills (168) and assists (373) respectively, with Conway also leading the conference in total points with 188.5. On the defensive end, Kilpatrick leads the team with 175 digs and LeeAnne Lowery’s 57 blocks are the most on the team and second most in the conference.
Old Dominion is ranked sixth in the nation for assists (618) and seventh in the nation for team kills (664). Their total assists are the most of any team in the Sun Belt Conference.
About Georgia Southern
The Eagles (10-1) are coming off of hosting their Bash in the Boro Tournament, where they too went 3-0. They swept Alabama State, Western Carolina, and Winthrop in straight sets as Reagan Barth, Ashlyn Lovett, and Lydia Seymour were named to the All-Tournament team. Barth was also named tournament MVP while Lovett was voted Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday after recording 63 digs (7.00 per set) with a .920 reception percentage over the weekend.
Jillian Gray leads the Eagles in kills with 128 and total points with 146.5, while Kristen Barrett leads the team in assists with 351, ranking first in the conference. Lovett is the conference leader for total digs (221) as well as digs per set (5.97), where she is also ranked second in the nation.
Georgia Southern leads the conference in seven different categories and ranks third in the nation for digs per set (18.73) and 12th in the nation in kills per set (14.22). The Eagles are also 8-0 on their home court.
GS was picked to finish third in the Sun Belt’s East Division in the league’s Preseason Coaches’ Poll with Barth representing the Eagles on the Preseason All-Sun Belt Team. Head Coach Chad Willis is in his sixth season leading the program.
Up Next
ODU will return to Norfolk to take on Coastal Carolina on Friday, Oct. 4 and Saturday, Oct. 5.