Old Dominion (4-9, 0-2 Sun Belt) at Georgia Southern (10-4, 2-0 Sun Belt)
Match Info – Friday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. | Saturday, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m.
Location – Hanner Fieldhouse (Statesboro, Ga.)
Watch – ESPN+ (Friday | Saturday)
Live Stats – Friday | Saturday
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion volleyball continues Sun Belt Conference play with a pair of road matches at Georgia Southern this Friday and Saturday in Statesboro, Georgia. First serve for Friday’s match is scheduled for 6 p.m., and Saturday’s match will begin at 1 p.m.
Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available.
The Series
ODU and Georgia Southern have previously met four times, with the Eagles ahead in the all-time series, 4-0. The two teams were scheduled to meet for the first time in Statesboro, Georgia on Sept. 30-Oct. 1, 2022, but those two matches were canceled due to the impact of Hurricane Ian. Another Sun Belt series at GS, scheduled for Sept. 27-28, 2024, was canceled due to Hurricane Helene.
Last season saw the Monarchs host the Eagles on Sept. 25-26 to open conference play, with the visitors taking both matches, 3-0 and 3-0. In the series opener, former Monarch Bryanna Jones tallied 12 kills and Kyra Hampton contributed 19 assists with eight digs. Alumni Kate Kilpatrick anchored the back line with 15 digs and Emma Schelah made three blocks. In the second match, Elisa Maggi scored eight kills with 17 digs and four blocks, Hampton had 27 assists, and alumni LeeAnne Lowery also made four blocks.
About ODU
The Monarchs (4-9, 0-2 Sun Belt) hosted App State for the first Sun Belt Conference series of the season last week, but fell to the Mountaineers, 3-1 on Thursday and 3-0 on Friday. ODU secured the first set point, 25-23 in the series opener, but App State won the next three sets, 25-12, 25-16, and 25-22. Leilani Lawrence led both teams with 18 kills while swinging for a .227 hitting percentage. Wiktoria Zagumny finished the night with 36 assists, and Schelah and Zagumny combined for seven blocks. In the second match with the Mountaineers, Schelah and Emma DiRocco tallied four kills each, Erica Duffy contributed 11 assists, and Schelah registered five blocks.
Lawrence continues to pace the Monarch offense. The Tampa, Florida native leads the Sun Belt and ranks 24th nationally in service aces with 27 as well ranking first in the league and 26th in the country with 0.55 aces per set. She is fourth in the SBC in points (216), points per set (4.41), and kills per set (3.69) and is fifth in the conference with 181 kills.
Maggi is next in kills with 121 and is up to 910 for her career. Zagumny and Duffy, whose older sister Lexi plays for Georgia Southern, own 222 and 172 assists, respectively. At the service line, Rita Benidio is second on the team with 11 aces and Maggi is right behind her with 10. Defensively, libero Ashlyn Gent leads the team with 123 digs (2.51 per set). Schelah has a team-best 48 blocks, and DiRocco is second with 33.
Head coach Fred Chao is in his seventh season at ODU and is 71-99 overall with a 20-42 mark against Sun Belt opponents.
About Georgia Southern
The Eagles (10-4, 2-0 Sun Belt) are on a six-match winning streak and opened Sun Belt action with a series sweep at Coastal Carolina last weekend, defeating the Chanticleers in straight sets in both matches. Third year libero Maddie Cugino was named Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday after tallying 39 digs (6.5 per set) with 20 serve receptions over the two matches.
GS’ offense is led by Reagan Barth (171 kills), Beka Pfefferkorn (147 kills), and Alex Myers (103 kills). Myers leads the SBC and is 20th in Division I with a .421 hitting percentage while Barth ranks third in the conference with 10.26 attacks per set, 3.98 kills per set, and 4.56 points per set. Setters Bella Ekeler and Lexi Duffy have combined for 529 assists, and Mayte Camacho has served a team-high 15 aces. Cugino is the conference leader and ranked 13th nationally with 4.84 digs per set. She’s third in the SBC and 23rd in the country with 242 total digs. At the net, Kayla Knowles has made 59 blocks, Myers is up to 47, and Pfefferkorn owns 35.
The Eagles currently rank 18th in DI with 14.06 kills per set, they’re 20th with 12.96 assists per set, and are 21st with 15.84 digs per set. GS also has the top hitting percentage in the SBC at .269, is second in the league with a .714 winning percentage, and is third in team kills (703), attacks per set (36.74), and assists (648).
GS was picked to finish second in the Sun Belt’s East Division in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll behind James Madison. Cugino was voted Preseason Libero of the Year and was joined on the Preseason All-Sun Belt Team by Barth. Head coach Chad Willis is in his eighth season in Statesboro and owns a 119-85 record with a 54-53 mark against Sun Belt opponents.
Up Next
The Monarchs will be back on their home court on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9 and 10 to host a Sun Belt series versus Coastal Carolina. The first match with the Chanticleers is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start, and the two teams will play again at 2 p.m. the following day.