ATLANTA – Old Dominion volleyball kept Friday’s match at Georgia State going with a 25-20 decision in the fourth set, but the Monarchs couldn’t complete the comeback as they came up just short, 15-12 in the fifth.
ODU trailed 7-3 in the decisive set, but three straight kills by Elisa Maggi tied the score at 8-8. GSU regained control and went up 12-10, but a Hailee Blankenship kill and a service error by the home team cut the deficit to 13-12. The Panthers held on though as Peyton Gash and Keionna Mackey scored back-to-back kills to finish the match.
With the 3-2 loss, ODU falls to 14-4 overall and 3-1 in Sun Belt play.
“The better team won tonight. Georgia State competed harder and played much better defense and transition. Our untimely missed serves took pressure off of them, so they were able to continue playing aggressively,” said ODU Head Coach Fred Chao.
GSU 3, ODU 2
The opening set was a battle at the net as both sides combined for 11 blocks, six of them by GSU and five by ODU. The Panthers (11-8, 2-5) put together an early 5-0 run to go up 7-3, but three blocks by LeeAnne Lowery, Ashlynn Belcher, and Bryanna Jones helped the Monarchs pull ahead, 11-8. An attack error allowed the hosts to catch back up at 15-15, but Belcher assisted Emma Schelah to open up a 3-0 response. ODU maintained the lead the rest of the way and captured the first set at 25-22.
The second set was close from start to finish. After calling a timeout with ODU down 22-21 late, Alice Munari put away a ball from Elisa Maggi to even the score. GSU’s Alessia Cappai then committed an attack error and Munari followed with an ace as the Monarchs looked to win another set. ODU had multiple opportunities to clinch the set, but three service errors bailed out GSU. Knotted at 28-28, the Panthers won the next two points and evened the match at a set apiece.
ODU jumped out to a 5-0 lead to start the third set, but GSU was able to catch up at 7-7 and later used a 5-1 swing to take a 16-11 advantage. The Monarchs got back to within a point a 16-15 on a kill from Lowery, but the Panthers put together another 5-0 stretch and won another set, 25-18.
In the fourth, an Alexa Earle service ace capped off a 4-0 ODU run that put them out front, 15-10. The hosts closed to within 15-13, but three straight kills from Lowery led to five unanswered points in favor of the Monarchs. GSU made a late charge with a 4-0 push of its own, but ODU forced a fifth set with a 25-20 total.
Several Monarchs had career nights. Lowery paced ODU with a new career best of 17 kills while hitting for .412. The Verona, New York native also recorded six blocks and added two digs to her totals. Belcher also set a new career mark with 54 assists and racked up 14 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. Kilpatrick led the back row with 26 digs, three more than her previous high. Maggi was one kill shy of matching her career high as she finished right behind Lowery with 16 and added 10 digs for her fifth double-double of 2024. Conway contributed 14 kills and six blocks while Munari turned in a 12-dig performance.
Friday’s match featured 29 ties, 15 of them in the second set, and 13 lead changes. The Monarchs edged the Panthers in points (89-80), kills (69-63), service aces (8-3) and assists (62-59). However, ODU committed 14 service errors compared to just three by GSU.
“Our middles performed well offensively, but we didn’t get enough from our pins,” added Chao. “We will regroup and find another gear tomorrow.”
Up Next
ODU will look to split the Sun Belt series when the teams return for a 2 p.m. match tomorrow.