NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion volleyball could not slow down the Georgia Southern attack on Thursday as the Monarchs dropped their Sun Belt Conference opener, 3-0 at the ODU Volleyball Center.
GS 3, ODU 0
The Eagles (10-2, 1-0 Sun Belt) rattled off 12 straight points to open the match before finally committing an attack error. Emma Schelah put away a ball from Kyra Hampton and Bryanna Jones scored four kills, but the Monarchs (3-9, 0-1) dropped the opening set 25-10.
In the second set, a block by Tiana Stubbs and Elisa Maggi followed by a service ace from Maggi put ODU ahead, 4-3. GS responded with a 5-0 run though to seize control. Hampton assisted Jones on a kill to snap that stretch and Madelyn Eslinger then set Jones for two more kills to close the gap 8-7, but the Eagles pulled away again, 11-7. Back-to-back scores by Hampton then capped off a 4-0 ODU run that cut the deficit to 14-13. The Monarchs burned a timeout as they trailed 18-14, and the two sides traded points the rest of the way with the Eagles grabbing another set point at 25-19.
Georgia Southern opened the third set with a 4-0 run and a pair of Kirsten Barrett service aces helped push the visitor lead to 11-3. Kills from Hampton and Maggi and a block by Schelah had the Monarchs back within five at 17-12, but ODU was unable to get any closer. GS held on 25-17 to take the match in straight sets.
Jones scored 12 kills while hitting for a .242 clip. Hampton reached 19 assists with eight digs, four kills, and one block, and Kate Kilpatrick led the Monarchs in digs with 15. At the net, Schelah recorded three blocks while Katie Rakoski, Maggi, and LeeAnne Lowery finished with two blocks each.
Up Next
The two teams will be back for the second match of the Sun Belt series tomorrow, which is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start.