Old Dominion (14-5, 3-3 Sun Belt) at Southern Miss (8-12, 4-4 Sun Belt)
Match Info – Friday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. ET
Saturday, Oct. 26 at 1 p.m. ET
Location – Southern Miss Wellness Center (Hattiesburg, Miss.)
Watch – ESPN+ (Friday | Saturday)
Live Stats – Friday | Saturday
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion volleyball continues its road swing with a pair of Sun Belt matches at Southern Miss this weekend. Friday’s series-opener is scheduled for a 7 p.m. ET start, and Saturday will begin with a 1 p.m. ET first serve.
Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available.
Series History
ODU and USM are tied at 2-2 in the all-time series. The Monarchs hosted the Golden Eagles on Nov. 10-11, 2022. After dropping the first match in five sets, ODU responded with a 3-1 victory the next day to split the series. USM hosted ODU on Nov. 10-11 last season. The Monarchs won the first match 3-1 but fell in four sets in the second match.
About ODU
The Monarchs (14-5, 3-3 Sun Belt) dropped both of their matches at Georgia State in five sets last weekend and are currently fourth in the Sun Belt’s East Division standings. With the losses, ODU fell out of the Top 100 in the RPI as they enter the series ranked 118th.
Myah Conway continues to pace the attack with 239 kills (3.59 per set) and Elisa Maggi follows with 196 kills (3.18 per set). Ashlynn Belcher, the team’s primary setter, currently ranks third in the conference with 592 assists and is fourth in the league with 7.79 assists per set. Maggi and Emma Schelah lead ODU’s servers with 26 and 23 aces, respectively. LeeAnne Lowery leads the Monarchs at the net and ranks fourth in the Sun Belt with 83 blocks. Libero Kate Kilpatrick owns 292 digs and averages 3.84 per set.
The Monarchs need one more win to set a new program record for wins in a season. ODU leads the SBC with 135 service aces and 1.78 aces per set. The team is also third in the league in team kills (974), team assists (900), and opponent hitting percentage (.182).
About Southern Miss
The Golden Eagles (8-12, 4-4) hosted South Alabama last Thursday and Friday and suffered a pair of 3-1 losses to the Jaguars. USM is currently fourth in the Sun Belt West Division standings and is 251st in the latest RPI rankings.
Sadie McAda leads the Sun Belt and ranks 38th nationally with 814 total attacks. She’s also second in the SBC in attacks per set (10.71), kills (261), and points (294). Sunni Sheppard is fifth in the country in digs per set (5.34) and sixth nationally in total digs (411). Torrey Tkach’s 99 blocks rank 20th in Division I and she’s also second in the SBC with 1.29 blocks per set. Aysu Dalogullari comes into the series ranked third in the conference in points per set (4.14), kills per set (3.61), and aces per set (0.39) and she is also fourth in attacks per set (10.36).
Through games played on Oct. 23, the Golden Eagles are in the Top 20 in four different statistical categories. USM is third in the nation in team attacks per set (39.31), 15th in both team total attacks (3,027) and digs per set (17.21), and 18th in team digs (1,325). Southern Miss was picked to finish fifth in the West Division in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches’ Poll and is led by Head Coach Jenny Hazelwood, who is in her third season leading the program.
Up Next
ODU will be back on its home court next Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1-2 when the Monarchs host Marshall for two matches.