ATLANTA – For the second time in as many days, Old Dominion volleyball forced a fifth set but couldn’t close out the match as the Monarchs fell 3-2 to the Panthers on Saturday afternoon at the GSU Sports Arena.
ODU was up 21-14 in the fourth set, but saw that lead evaporate as GSU tied the score at 23-23. The hosts looked to close out the match at 29-28, but a couple of Elisa Maggi kills and a GSU attack error kept ODU’s hopes alive. Unfortunately for the Monarchs, the Panthers put together a 6-0 run for an 11-3 lead in the decisive set and there was little ODU could do from there.
GSU 3, ODU 2
The Monarchs (14-5, 3-3 Sun Belt) earned the first four points of the opening set and built an early 6-1 lead, but the Panthers (12-8, 3-5) caught up at 22-22 as ODU called a timeout. After two more ties at 23-23 and 24-24, GSU’s Akira Burt converted an attack attempt and followed with a solo block to clinch the set for the hosts, 26-24.
The second set remained close until Ashlyn Belcher assisted Myah Conway. That opened a 7-0 run by ODU as the Monarchs evened the match at a set apiece.
ODU was up 5-2 to start the third set and led 14-11 later on as Alice Munari and Emma Schelah recorded a block. Seven of the next eight points went to the Panthers though and they remained in front the rest of the way. Adrienne Peji assisted Maggi to trim the GSU lead to 19-17, but the hosts grabbed another set at 25-19.
In the fourth, three kills from Hailee Blankenship highlighted a 6-1 swing as the Monarchs went up 18-11. The Panthers raced back though, using runs of 4-0 and 5-0 to jump ahead, 24-23. The teams were deadlocked from there, but ODU finally strung together three points for the 31-29 decision.
Maggi led the offense with a new career best of 20 kills. She hit .245 for the match and added eight digs to her totals. Conway was next with 13 kills and three blocks while LeeAnne Lowery scored nine kills with three blocks. Belcher eclipsed 50 assists for the second time this weekend, finishing with 52 to go along with 15 digs. Schelah contributed four blocks, Kate Kilpatrick set a new program record with 40 digs, and Peji matched her career high with 11 digs.
ODU scored more kills (65-60), had more assists (58-52) and a better hitting percentage (.153 - .144), but GSU led in every other category. There were a total of 34 ties, 10 in the second set and 12 in the fourth, and 13 lead changes.
Up Next
The Monarchs will be in Hattiesburg, Mississippi next weekend for a couple of Sun Belt matches at Southern Miss on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 25-26.