Old Dominion (5-18, 2-10 Sun Belt) vs. James Madison (18-6, 11-1 Sun Belt)
Match Info – Friday, Nov, 7 at 6 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m.
Location – ODU Volleyball Center (Norfolk, Va.)
Watch – ESPN+ (Saturday)
Live Stats – Friday | Saturday
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion volleyball has its final homestand of the season this weekend when the Monarchs welcome James Madison for a TowneBank Royal Rivalry series.
The two teams will play at 6 p.m. on Friday and at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The second match will be streamed on ESPN+, with Andy Loce and Kiara McKibben calling the action, and live stats will be available for both matches.
Saturday will also mark Senior Day for the Monarchs, who will recognize LeeAnne Lowery in a ceremony prior to first serve.
Series History
The two teams have played six matches against each other, with JMU ahead in the series 5-1. Last season in Harrisonburg, ODU bested the Dukes in five sets on Nov. 7. The second match on Nov. 8 also went the distance, but JMU came away with the victory, 3-2.
About ODU
The Monarchs (5-18, 2-10 Sun Belt) made the trip to Huntington, West Virginia last weekend and dropped both of their matches to the Herd in straight sets.
Elisa Maggi continues to lead the team in both points (321) and kills (283). Through matches played on Nov. 2, she was third in the Sun Belt with 891 total attacks and fourth with 10.61 attacks per set. Katie Rakoski follows her with 184.5 points and 171 kills, and Rita Benidio is third with 153 points and 120 kills. Setter Wiktoria Zagumny has tallied 514 assists and ranks second in the league with 8.86 assists per set. Kate Kilpatrick and Benidio have served 26 and 24 aces, respectively, and Benidio ranks fifth in the SBC with 0.40 aces per set.
Defensively, Kilpatrick leads the back row with 303 digs (3.88 per set). Maggi is next with 201 and Adrienne Peji has 180. Emma Schelah is the team’s leader at the net with 61 blocks, including 10 solo blocks. Maggi has made 38 blocks while Tiana Stubbs and Lowery have 37 each.
About James Madison
The Dukes (18-6, 11-1) are looking to continue their 11-match win streak and are coming off a Sun Belt series sweep of South Alabama last weekend in Mobile. JMU defeated the Jaguars, 3-1 last Thursday and 3-2 on Halloween.
Kennedy Louisell currently leads the Sun Belt in five different statistical categories. The junior outside hitter is the national leader in kills with 489. She’s also second in the country with 531 points, is sixth with 5.15 kills per set, seventh in points per set at 5.59, and eighth in total attacks with 1,108. The Grand Rapids, Michigan native is averaging 11.66 attacks per set, good for second in the conference and 26th in Division I.
Ana Toumazatos is second on the team with 280 kills, while setters Grace Wenrich and Rebecca Watkins have accounted for 539 assists and 403 assists, respectively. Watkins and Louisell have combined for 46 service aces. Julia McNeley has the team high in digs with 379, and Ayen Nhial ranks fourth in the Sun Belt with 113 blocks and 1.23 blocks per set.
As a team, JMU is sixth nationally with 1,252 assists. The Dukes are also seventh in kills (1,336), 11th in assists per set (13.18), 14th in kills per set (14.06), 17th in total blocks (236.5), and 23rd in hitting percentage (.268).
Head coach Lauren Steinbrecher is in her 16th season leading the program. The Dukes were picked to finish second in the Sun Belt East Division.
Up Next
ODU will close out the regular season with a pair of Sun Belt matches at Arkansas State next Friday and Saturday, Nov. 14-15.