HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Old Dominion volleyball started off the weekend with a 3-0 setback to Marshall on Friday night at the Cam Henderson Center.
The Monarchs drop to 5-17 overall and 2-9 against Sun Belt opponents.
Marshall 3, ODU 0
The Thundering Herd (13-11, 5-6) jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the first set and used a 4-0 run to stretch their advantage to 12-5. Down 21-16 late, the Monarchs used their second timeout. Elisa Maggi and Rita Benidio scored back-to-back kills to force a Marshall timeout at 21-18, but the hosts held on, 25-20.
ODU fell behind 11-3 in the second set, but Wiktoria Zagumny assisted Emma Schelah to open up a 4-0 run for the Monarchs. Trailing 24-17, Tiana Stubbs, Katie Rakoski, and Benidio scored three-straight kills as the Herd needed to talk things over. Following the timeout, Maggi welcomed the home team back to the court with a service ace. Marshall’s Bella Thompson assisted Emma Barnett though as the Herd won another set, 25-21.
A couple of Rakoski kills helped put ODU out front, 4-1 at the start of the third set. Marshall would catch up at 8-8 on a block by Elli Barry and Marae Reilly, then pull away 17-11 thanks to a 7-1 swing. The Herd continued to pull away late and clinched the match with a 25-14 final.
Rakoski hit .444 in the match and led ODU with 10 kills. Maggi and Schelah followed with eight kills each, and Benidio had six. Zagumny tallied 32 assists to go with five kills, five digs and two blocks, and Maggi served the lone ace for the Monarchs. Kilpatrick led both teams with 17 digs and Schelah made three blocks.
ODU swung for a .193 clip, while Marshall hit .375. The Monarchs edged the Herd in assists (40-38) and both teams recorded 42 digs. There were only eight ties in the match, three in the first set and four in the third, and just four lead changes.
Up Next
Old Dominion will look to split the Sun Belt series when the teams return to the court tomorrow. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m.