NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion volleyball had its most efficient offensive match so far this season as the Monarchs defeated Navy, 3-0 on Friday night in the first match of the Monarch Invitational.
“The team performed really well tonight,” said ODU head coach Fred Chao. “They handled pressure and responded as a team. Our serve and pass stood up and gave Wiktoria [Zagumny] options all match. And to her credit, she took advantage of the opportunities and orchestrated one of our best offensive performances ever. We are still growing and we’re looking forward to the next challenge in UMES on Sunday.”
The Monarchs combined to hit .415 on the night, the third-best attack percentage in program history. ODU hit .443 in its season-opening, 3-0 win over Marist on August 30, 2024 and hit .434 as a team in a 3-0 win at Norfolk State on August 26, 2023.
ODU 3, Navy 0
The Monarchs (3-4) jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first set, but the Midshipmen (1-6) rattled off a 5-0 run in response to seize the lead. Navy’s Caroline Buffum and Avery Maddux recorded a block to put the visitors ahead, 10-5, but the Silver and Blue were able to catch their opponent at 15-15 as fourth year setter Wiktoria Zagumny assisted fourth year outside hitter Elisa Maggi on a kill. First year outside hitter Leilani Lawrence then served an ace before Navy committed an attack error, but the Mids earned five-straight points to retake the lead, 20-17. With multiple ties down the stretch, it was Maggi with a couple of late kills to secure the first set point for the Monarchs, 29-27.
The second set remained close with the visitors taking a 14-11 lead. Second year rightside hitter Katie Rakoski then converted a couple of attacks, Navy’s Farrah Eike committed an attack error, and third year middle blocker Emma Schelah scored on a Navy free ball as ODU held a narrow 15-14 advantage at the media timeout. Out of the break, Schelah and Rakoski made a block before Maggi, Rakoski, and Schelah scored three consecutive kills to make it an 8-0 Monarch run. An ODU service error allowed Navy to get to within 22-19, but the Monarchs held on to claim another set point, 25-21.
The third set was also a back-and-forth affair with another 11 ties between the two sides. Knotted at 20-20, Zagumny assisted Maggi and then teamed up with Schelah on a block as the Monarchs pulled ahead, 22-20. Both sides traded errors before Schelah scored a kill and then made another block with Zagumny to end the match, 25-21.
Lawrence led both teams with 19 kills while hitting for a .412 clip, and Maggi also finished in double figures with 11 kills while hitting for a .435 mark. Zagumny contributed a season-high 43 assists, and Lawrence led ODU’s servers with two aces. On defense, first year libero paced the back row with nine digs, followed by Zagumny and Lawrence with six digs each. At the net, Zagumny and Schelah made three blocks each.
ODU improves to 3-1 in the all-time series versus Navy. The Monarchs led the Mids in points (61-50), kills (51-39), assists (47-36), digs (30-29), and blocks (5-3), though the visitors served more aces (8-5). Friday’s match featured 30 ties, with 10 in the first set and 11 in the third, as well as 14 lead changes.
Up Next
The Monarch Invitational continues Saturday with a 2 p.m. match between Navy and Maryland Eastern Shore. ODU will then host UMES on Sunday at 2 p.m. to conclude the tournament.