VILLANOVA, Pa. – Old Dominion volleyball was able to force a fifth set against Princeton on Friday afternoon, but came up short 15-12 as the Monarchs opened the Villanova Classic with a 3-2 loss to the Tigers.
Trailing 5-2 in the decisive set, four kills from Alice Munari highlighted a 6-0 run that put ODU ahead, 8-5. However, Princeton put together a late 4-0 run of its own to come away with the victory.
"This was a tough one. We competed hard in stretches, but it wasn't consistent enough to win. Alice [Munari] certainly changed the course of the match for us and there were contributions from everyone, just not all at the same time for long enough. We didn't make enough good choices offensively when we needed to," said ODU Head Coach Fred Chao.
The match marked the season opener for Princeton and was the first ever meeting between the two programs.
Princeton 3, ODU 2
A couple of Bryanna Jones kills opened a 7-0 spurt that gave the Monarchs (3-2) an 11-4 lead in the first set. The Tigers (1-0) couldn’t catch ODU from there, and a late 4-0 push helped the Monarchs to a 25-13 decision.
Princeton rattled off four straight points to start the next set. Ashlynn Belcher assisted Jones on a kill to get ODU back within a point at 7-6, but that was as close as the team would get. The Tigers put together a couple of 4-0 runs to put the set out of reach and even the match with a 25-15 tally.
The third set remained close for most of the way until Princeton scored five unanswered to distance itself, 16-12. Hailee Blankenship converted an attack attempt to cut the deficit to 21-19, but the next four points went to the Tigers as they took a 2-1 overall lead in the match.
Needing to win the fourth set to keep the match going, a couple of early service aces from Blankenship and three kills by Munari put ODU in front, 7-1. An ODU attack error allowed Princeton to finally catch up at 18-18. After five more ties with the set knotted at 24-24, a Munari kill and Princeton attack error sent the match to the fifth set.
In the fifth, an Elisa Maggi kill gave ODU control at 11-10. Princeton’s Lucia Scalamandre the scored on back-to-back attack attempts to open a 4-0 response. Maggi staved off the match point with another kill, but a bad set by Blankenship brought the match to a close.
Blankenship swung for a .375 hitting percentage and scored 16 kills while Munari hit .522 and was right behind her with 15 kills. Maggi also reached double figures with 10 kills while Myah Conway and Jones contributed nine kills each. Belcher finished the match with 30 assists, Elisabeth Levick was next with 25, and Blankenship continued her strong serving with three aces. Defensively, Emma Schelah made a team-high four blocks and LeeAnne Lowery and Conway had three apiece. Kate Kilpatrick registered 20 digs and Blankenship added 10 digs to her totals for a double-double.
ODU hit .253 for the match, including .464 in the first set and .364 in the fifth, but Princeton combined for a .292 clip. The Monarchs edged the Tigers in kills (66-62), assists (62-51) and digs (70-58).
Up Next
The Monarchs are back in action on Saturday when they continue the Villanova Classic with a 4 p.m. match versus Loyola (Md.).
"We have a chance to respond tomorrow and I'm looking forward to seeing how that plays out," added Chao.