RICHMOND, Va. – Tied at 13-13 in the fifth set, Kyra Hampton and Elisa Maggi scored back-to-back kills as Old Dominion volleyball completed a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over NC State on Sunday afternoon at the Siegel Center.
“So incredibly proud of our team,” said ODU head coach Fred Chao. “Today we realized the power of 13 strong. Everyone poured their hearts into this effort, and we earned the win as a result. We had contributions from everyone, and Kyra kept getting better and better as the match went on. But the best moments came from the players on the sidelines – our game-changers – who had the biggest presence in the arena. It felt like everyone wanted their teammates to succeed, and they embraced the idea of ‘giving credit away’.”
The win marks the third over a Power 4 opponent in program history. ODU defeated West Virginia 3-0 on Sept. 14, 2023 in the first match of the Mountaineer Invitational. The Monarchs also beat Rutgers 3-0 on Sept. 19 last year to open the Old Dominion Invitational.
ODU 3, NC State 2
The Monarchs (3-8) got out to a fast start as three Bryanna Jones service aces helped build a 5-0 lead in the first set. The Wolfpack (7-3) caught up at 10-10, but a couple of 3-0 runs helped ODU regain control at 17-14. NCSU put together a late 5-0 run of its own to overtake ODU 22-21, but three more kills by Jones and a block by Emma Schelah and Katie Rakoski clinched the set point at 25-22.
NC State countered with a 7-0 start to open the second set and the Monarchs quickly found themselves trailing 9-1. The Pack put together another pair of 5-0 runs to put things out of reach at 21-8 and NCSU evened the match with a 25-12 decision.
ODU led the third set 9-8 following a kill by Maggi, but NCSU earned five straight points to go up, 13-9. Trailing 22-16 later in the set, Maggi scored two more kills, Hampton and Tiana Stubbs recorded a block, and Kate Kilpatrick served an ace to get the Monarchs back to within two points at 22-20. The Pack held on though, 25-20 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
In the fourth set, Rakoski put away a ball from Hampton to open up a 5-0 run that gave ODU an 18-14 advantage. NC State looked to put away the match at 24-23, but Hampton assisted Rakoski again and Schelah set a ball for Jones as the Wolfpack burned a timeout. Tied at 26-26, Jones came through with a solo block and Hampton and Schelah followed with another block to win the set at 28-26.
The decisive set was close as both teams traded points, but it was ODU leading 8-7 when the teams traded sides. Two kills by Rakoski and an attack error by the Wolfpack allowed the Monarchs to pull ahead 12-9, but a 3-0 run by NCSU knotted the score at 13-13. Hampton and Maggi then capped off the win with a pair of successful attacks.
Three Monarchs finished with double-digit kills: Rakoski and Jones had 18 apiece to lead the way, and Maggi was close behind them with 14. Hampton set a new career high with 42 assists and added 16 digs for her first career double-double. Jones served three aces and added five digs to her final line, Schelah and Stubbs made five blocks each, Hampton made four blocks, and Kilpatrick ended up with 13 digs.
There were 33 ties, including nine in the third set and 12 in the fourth, as well as 11 lead changes. It was also the first ever meeting between ODU and NC State.
Up Next
ODU opens Sun Belt Conference play with a pair of 6 p.m. matches versus Georgia Southern this Thursday and Friday.