Old Dominion (15-8, 4-6 Sun Belt) vs. James Madison (10-12, 5-7 Sun Belt)
Match Info – Thursday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m.
Location – Convocation Center (Harrisonburg, Va.)
Watch – ESPN+ (Friday)
Live Stats – Thursday | Friday
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion volleyball will hit the road again to take on division rival James Madison for the TowneBank Royal Rivalry.
The Monarchs will begin play on Thursday, Nov. 7 and conclude the series on Friday, Nov. 8. Both matches are scheduled for 6 p.m. starts and will take place at the Convocation Center, and Friday’s match will be streamed on ESPN+. Live stats will also be available for each match.
Series History
JMU is 4-0 against ODU as they prepare for their fifth and sixth meetings. Their first meeting came in October 2022 when the Monarchs traveled to Harrisonburg, though they lost both matches with 3-0 scores. Similarly, in October 2023, ODU fell to JMU in straight sets at home in both matches of the series.
Between the rivalry, ODU leads in blocks (35-33) while JMU leads in kills (168-122) and assists (148-114).
About ODU
The Monarchs (15-8, 4-6 Sun Belt) are looking to begin a new win streak after falling to Marshall in both matches last week at home. Despite the losses, both Myah Conway and Elisa Maggi had double-doubles in the first match, with Conway accounting for 19 kills and 11 digs and Maggi with 18 kills and 14 digs. In the second match, Ashlynn Belcher had her own 33 assist and 16 dig double-double.
Belcher is ranked fifth in the conference for assists per set and fourth for total assists, where she has eight and 720 respectively. Maggi is also ranked fourth in the conference for service aces with 31 while Conway is ranked third in total kills with 297. LeeAnne Lowery places fifth for total blocks in the conference.
As a team, ODU leads the Sun Belt Conference in service aces with 154 and is ranked second for aces per set with 1.71. The Monarchs also place third in team assists (1,079), opponent hitting percentage (.187), and team kills (1,166).
About James Madison
The Dukes (10-12, 5-7) are continuing their homestand after falling to South Alabama last week in both matches. In the first match, JMU was able to force a fourth and fifth set, though South Alabama would take the match with a 15-9 score in the fifth set. In the second match, the Dukes fell in four sets, though the third and fourth sets were only lost by two points. In both matches, Breyna Reid had a double-double with 28 kills and 13 digs in the first match and 30 kills and 13 digs in the second.
Reid is ranked second in the Sun Belt Conference and seventh in the nation for attacks per set with 12.15. She is also ranked 12th in the nation in kills per set with 4.57 and 20th in the nation for points per set with 5.03. She holds second place in the conference for both of those rankings.
As a team, the Dukes lead the Sun Belt in total blocks with 223 and blocks per set with 2.56, which also puts them at 36th and 34th place in the nation respectively. The team also ranks third in the conference in team service aces with 143.
JMU was picked to finish first in the Sun Belt’s East Division and also had fifth year Miette Veldman chosen for the Preseason All-Sun Belt team.
Up Next
ODU will return to Norfolk for their last regular season series of the year when they welcome Arkansas State for two days of play. The matches will begin on Thursday, Nov. 14 and conclude on Friday, Nov. 15. Both matches will be played at 6 p.m. in the ODU Volleyball Center.