Old Dominion (3-14, 0-6 Sun Belt) vs. Georgia State (10-7, 1-5 Sun Belt)
Match Info – Friday, Oct. 17 at 6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 18 at 2 p.m.
Location – ODU Volleyball Center (Norfolk, Va.)
Watch – ESPN+ (Friday | Saturday)
Live Stats – Friday | Saturday
NORFOLK, Va. – After spending the past two weeks on the road, Old Dominion volleyball will be back on its home court this week to host Georgia State for a pair of matches on Friday and Saturday. The Sun Belt series will mark ODU’s Dig Pink Weekend.
The two teams will play at 6 p.m. on Friday and at 2 p.m. on Saturday with both matches streamed on ESPN+. Live stats will also be available.
Dig Pink
In support of Breast Cancer Awareness month, the Monarchs have designated the series as its Dig Pink Weekend. Fans in attendance will be able to purchase an ODU Volleyball Dig Pink shirt in the lobby for $20 with all proceeds and donations going to support the Side-Out Foundation and its mission to research and fight metastatic breast cancer.
Fans are encouraged to wear pink and can donate to the Side-Out Foundation here. For more information on Side-Out and its Dig Pink initiative, visit the Foundation’s website here.
Series History
ODU and GSU have played each other six times with the Monarchs ahead in the all-time series, 4-2. The two teams played in Atlanta on Oct. 18-19 last season with the Panthers winning both matches in five sets.
About ODU
The Monarchs (3-14, 0-6 Sun Belt) made the trip to Boone, North Carolina last weekend to take on the Mountaineers. In the series opener, ODU won the first two sets 25-22 and 25-15 and was up 8-6 in the fifth set, but came up short 18-16. Old Dominion then fell in straight sets in the second match.
Elisa Maggi is currently fifth in the Sun Belt with 646 total attacks and 10.42 attacks per set. She leads the team with 209 kills (3.37 per set) and 237 points (3.82 per set). Katie Rakoski is second with 122 kills and 130.5 points and Bryanna Jones is third with 115 kills and 126 points. Kyra Hampton has posted double-digit assists in nine straight appearances, reaching 40 assists or more twice. She’s currently up to 242 assists (5.90 per set) on the season. Kate Kilpatrick has served a team-high 21 aces and is also the Monarch leader in digs with 197 (3.52 per set). The junior from Raleigh, North Carolina is 38 digs away from reaching 1,000 for her career. Emma Schelah and LeeAnne Lowery have made 37 blocks each while Maggi is up to 29 blocks.
In the latest RPI rankings, the Monarchs are listed 189th.
About Georgia State
The Panthers (10-7, 1-5) split their Sun Belt series versus Arkansas State to open conference play, but dropped both of their matches at James Madison and are coming off a pair of 3-0 losses to Coastal Carolina.
Nazli Guvener and Maria Cecilia de Pinho pace the attack with 161 and 151 kills, respectively. Shanelle Martinez comes into the series with 328 assists and fellow setter Emily Harden is up to 273 assists. Martinez is GSU’s best server with 21 aces, with Alessia Cappai and Guvener next with 14 aces each. Marta Lazzarin leads the Sun Belt and is 19th nationally with 332 digs. She’s also first in the league and fourth in the country with 5.35 digs per set. At the net, Myllena Torquetti has made 45 blocks and Rayne Williams has made 38.
As a team, the Panthers are third in the SBC and 20th in Division I with a .165 opponent hitting percentage. They’re also third in the conference with 12.42 assists per set and 15.87 digs per set. Through matches played on Oct. 13, Georgia State is listed 162nd in the RPI rankings.
Head Coach Flavia Siqueira is in her second season at GSU after spending five seasons at Auburn Montgomery. The Panthers were picked to finish fifth in the East Division in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches Poll.
Up Next
The Monarchs will host Southern Miss for a pair of 6 p.m. matches next Thursday and Friday, Oct. 23-24.