Old Dominion (4-15, 1-7 Sun Belt) vs. Southern Miss (13-6, 5-3 Sun Belt)
Match Info – Thursday, Oct. 23 at 6 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 24 at 6 p.m.
Location – ODU Volleyball Center (Norfolk, Va.)
Watch – ESPN+ (Thursday)
Live Stats – Thursday | Friday
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion volleyball welcomes Southern Miss for a pair of Sun Belt matches this Thursday and Friday at the ODU Volleyball Center.
Both matches are scheduled for 6 p.m. starts. Live stats will be available, and Thursday’s match will be streamed on ESPN+.
Series History
ODU and USM have played six matches against each other and the all-time series is tied at 3-3. The Monarchs traveled to Hattiesburg, Mississippi last season and split the series with the Golden Eagles. Old Dominion captured the first match 3-0, but Southern Miss won the second match 3-1.
About ODU
The Monarchs (4-15, 1-7 Sun Belt) hosted Georgia State last weekend and split the conference series with the Panthers. ODU defeated GSU in five sets on Friday, but came up short, 3-1 on Saturday.
Elisa Maggi leads the team with 237 kills (3.34 per set) and 271 points (3.82 per set). She’s currently third in the league with 734 total attacks and is fifth with 10.34 attacks per set. Setters Wiktoria Zagumny and Kyra Hampton have tallied 370 and 242 assists, respectively. Kate Kilpatrick has served 23 aces and became the first player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career digs last Saturday. The junior from Raleigh, North Carolina owns 239 digs (3.68 per set) this season. Emma Schelah has made a team-high 48 blocks, LeeAnne Lowery follows her with 37 blocks, and Maggi is third with 34 blocks.
Through matches played on Oct. 20, the Monarchs are listed 192nd in the RPI rankings.
About Southern Miss
The Golden Eagles (13-6, 5-3) dropped both of their Sun Belt matches at South Alabama last week, 3-0 and 3-0. The team is currently 116th in the latest RPI rankings.
Sadie McAda paces the attack with 253 kills (3.95 per set). Brynn Botkin is next with 171 kills and Elly Stewart has 135. Botkin has served 35 aces, good for second in the league and 17th nationally. She’s also the Sun Belt leader and ranked 16th nationally with 0.55 aces per set. Setter Morgen Durgens has amassed 379 assists and is third in the SBC with 8.24 assists per set. On defense, Sunni Sheppard and McAda has accounted for 517 digs. At the net, Stewart has recorded 46 blocks and Lillie Johnson is close behind her with 42.
As a team, the Golden Eagles are ranked nationally in multiple categories. USM enters the week ranked ninth in team attacks per set (37.89), 10th in digs per set (17.28), and 19th in aces per set (1.94). Southern Miss is also first in the Sun Belt with 124 aces and second in the conference with 13.50 kills per set.
Head Coach Jenny Hazelwood is in her 19th season overall and her fourth season at USM. Sheppard was voted the Sun Belt Preseason Libero of the Year and the Golden Eagles were picked to finish sixth in the conference’s West Division.
Up Next
The Monarchs will be in Huntington, West Virginia next Friday and Saturday, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, for a pair of Sun Belt matches versus Marshall.