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by Pierce Yarberry

Volleyball to Conclude Regular Season at Home against Arkansas State

Volleyball to Conclude Regular Season at Home against Arkansas StateVolleyball to Conclude Regular Season at Home against Arkansas State

Old Dominion (16-9, 5-7 Sun Belt) vs. Arkansas State (22-4, 12-2 Sun Belt)

Match Info – Thursday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m.

                      Friday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m.

LocationODU Volleyball Center (Norfolk, Va.)

WatchESPN+ (Thursday)

Live StatsThursday | Friday

NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion volleyball will return home for its final regular season series of the year as the Monarchs welcome Arkansas State to Norfolk for a pair of matches this Thursday and Friday.

Both matches at the ODU Volleyball Center will begin at 6 p.m. and Thursday’s match will be streamed on ESPN+. Live stats will also be available for both matches.

Friday’s match will mark Senior Day for ODU, and the team will hold a pregame ceremony to celebrate seniors Hailee Blankenship, Jennifer Olansen, Alice Munari, Myah Conway, and statistician Sydney Strawbridge.

Series History

The Monarchs and the Red Wolves have only met once before on November 17, 2022 in the first round of the Sun Belt Championship. The match was anyone's, with Old Dominion taking sets one and three while Arkansas State took sets two and four. Arkansas State took the fifth set with an 18-16 score.

ODU led in blocks with 14 and points with 83, and were close behind Arkansas State in kills (68-66), aces (4-3), and assists (67-62).

About ODU

The Monarchs (16-9, 5-7 Sun Belt) are coming off a TowneBank Royal Rivalry series split at James Madison last Thursday and Friday, where both matches went to five sets. In the first match, ODU came back after being down 2-0 and took the remaining three sets, though JMU would take the second match after claiming the last two sets. Setter Ashlynn Belcher also eclipsed 1,000 career assists in the match.

Elisa Maggi leads the Sun Belt Conference in services aces with 36 and is ranked third in aces per set with 0.38. Conway is ranked second in both points and total kills with 380.5 and 338 respectively, while Belcher places third in total assists with 838.

As a team, ODU is ranked first in the conference in team service aces with 170 and second in both aces per set (1.70) and team kills (1,299). The Monarchs are also third in the league in opponent hitting percentage (.192) and team assists (1,205) and are 151st in the latest RPI rankings.

About Arkansas State

The Red Wolves (22-4, 12-2) are traveling to Norfolk on a seven-game winning streak, most recently coming off of two 3-1 wins against South Alabama. With this series sweep, the Red Wolves claimed the Sun Belt Conference West Division title and also had senior Sarah Martinez honored as Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week after accounting for 42 digs between both matches.

Martinez’s 460 total digs are second best in the Sun Belt. Daedrianna Cail is also ranked second in the conference for total blocks with 122, which is the 27th best in the nation. Cail is also ranked third for blocks per set with 1.26, and Kaitlin Whitlock places third as well for total attacks and points with 971 and 374, respectively.

The Red Wolves are ranked first in the conference as a team for both team kills (1,332) and team assists (1,238). Their opponent hitting percentage (.140) and match win-loss percentage (.846) puts them at sixth and 14th and in the nation as well. They also hold second place in the conference for total blocks with 237 and team digs with 1,642.

Overall, Arkansas State is ranked 69th in the RPI through matches played on Nov. 10.