Old Dominion (15-6, 4-4 Sun Belt) vs. Marshall (11-12, 2-8 Sun Belt)
Match Info – Friday, Nov. 1 at 6 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 2 at 2 p.m.
Location – ODU Volleyball Center (Norfolk, Va.)
Watch – ESPN+ (Friday | Saturday)
Live Stats – Friday | Saturday
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion volleyball returns to Norfolk this weekend as the Monarchs welcome Marshall for a pair of Sun Belt matches at the ODU Volleyball Center. The series begins with a 6 p.m. first serve on Friday, and the two teams return for a 2 p.m. start on Saturday.
Fans can watch both matches on ESPN+ and follow along with live stats.
Series History
ODU and Marshall have met eight times previously with the all-time series tied at 4-4. Last season, the Monarchs opened conference play in Huntington, West Virginia and secured a 3-1 victory over the Thundering Herd on Sept. 21. Myah Conway swung for a .350 hitting percentage and led the Monarchs with 19 kills, five blocks, three digs and one assist. Bryanna Jones scored 10 kills on a .529 clip and Teresa Atilano recorded a 46-assist, 12-dig double-double.
Marshall responded with a 3-0 win on Sept. 22 to split the series. Atilano recorded another double-double with 41 assists and 10 digs, Conway paced the attack with 20 kills, and Alice Munari followed with 13 kills.
About ODU
The Monarchs (15-6, 4-4 Sun Belt) their two matches at Southern Miss last Friday and Saturday. ODU swept the Golden Eagles on the first day, winning 25-20, 25-17 and 26-24. The following day saw the Monarchs capture the opening set 25-23, but the hosts won the next three sets 27-25, 25-13 and 25-23.
ODU comes into the series as the conference leader in team service aces with 145. The team is also second in the league with 1.75 aces per set and is third in opponent hitting percentage (.182), team kills (1,066), and team assists (985). The Monarchs are fifth in the current Sun Belt East Division standings and sit at 128th in the latest RPI rankings. As a team, ODU is hitting .221 for the season and averages 12.84 kills, 11.87 assists, 14.27 digs and 2.13 blocks per set.
Through matches played on Oct. 27, Elisa Maggi ranks third in the Sun Belt with 29 service aces, Ashlynn Belcher is fourth with 636 assists, and LeeAnne Lowery is also fourth with 93 blocks. Myah Conway owns the team highs in points (297) and kills (261) while Emma Schelah is second on the team with 24 aces and 73 blocks. Libero Kate Kilpatrick owns 310 digs and has the Sun Belt’s season high for digs in a match with 40 against Georgia State back on Oct. 19.
About Marshall
After dropping six matches in a row to start conference play, the Herd (11-12, 2-8) won at ULM 3-1 on Oct. 18 and 3-2 on Oct. 19. However, the team then suffered a pair of 3-1 setbacks to Georgia State last weekend in Huntington, West Virginia.
Marshall finds itself in seventh place in the East Division standings and 177th in the RPI. The Herd ranks second in the SBC with 1,369 digs and is third in both team total attacks (3,093) and team attacks per set (36.82). They have hit a combined .192 clip so far this season and average 12.2 kills, 11.3 assists, 1.5 aces, 16.3 digs and 2.2 blocks per set.
Senior setter Brynn Brown is second in the conference and fifth in the nation with four triple doubles in 2024. She’s also fifth in the SBC with 582 assists (6.93 per set) and teammate Peyton Neal is fifth with 333 digs. Marshall’s attack is paced by Audrey Geer (225 kills), Brown (181 kills), and Beatrice Ciccarelli (168 kills). Neal and Geer have served a combined 44 aces, Brown follows Neal with 247 digs, and Ciccarelli has recorded 85 blocks (19 solo).
The Herd was picked to finish sixth in the East Division is the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches’ Poll and are led by sixth-year Head Coach Ari Aganus.
Up Next
ODU and James Madison continue their TowneBank Royal Rivalry series with a pair of 6 p.m. matches in Harrisonburg next Thursday and Friday, Nov. 7-8.