Old Dominion (4-13, 0-6 Sun Belt) at Georgia State (7-11, 1-5 Sun Belt)
Match Info – Friday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. | Saturday, Oct. 17 at 2 p.m.
Location – GSU Sports Arena (Atlanta, Ga.)
Watch – ESPN+ (Friday | Saturday)
Live Stats – Friday | Saturday
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion volleyball travels to Atlanta, Georgia this week for a Sun Belt series at Georgia State. The Monarchs and Panthers will play at 6 p.m. on Friday and then at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available.
The Series
ODU and GSU have played eight matches against each other with the Monarchs ahead in the all-time series, 5-3. The Panthers made the trip to Norfolk last season on Oct. 17-18 with the sides splitting the Sun Belt series. In the first match, Old Dominion trailed 10-9 in the decisive set and called a timeout. Katie Rakoski scored three kills to highlight a late 5-0 run as the Silver and Blue took the opener, 3-2. Elisa Maggi recorded a 19-kill, 12-dig double-double, Kate Kilpatrick also posted a double-double with 19 digs and 10 assists, Wiktoria Zagumny had 49 assists, and Tiana Stubbs made eight blocks.
In the second match, ODU took the opening set 25-21, but GSU claimed the next three sets for a 3-1 final. Maggi, Rakoski, and Emma Schelah paced the Monarchs with nine kills each while Kilpatrick recorded 23 digs to become the first Monarch in program history to eclipse 1,000 for their career.
About ODU
The Monarchs (4-13, 0-6 Sun Belt) are still searching for their first conference win after dropping both of their matches to Coastal Carolina, 3-1 and 3-1 last weekend. Leilani Lawrence led ODU in the series with a combined 29 kills (3.63 per set) and Zagumny finished with 66 assists (8.25 per set). Libero Ashlyn Gent had 31 digs, Zagumny made seven blocks, and Schelah and Emma DiRocco followed with six blocks each.
Coming into this week, Lawrence ranks third in the Sun Belt with 31 service aces and 0.5 aces per set. The Tampa, Florida native is also fourth in the league in points (263.5) and is fifth in kills per set (3.58), attacks per set (9.90), and points per set (4.25). Lawrence is the team leader in kills with 222, Maggi is next with 149, and Schelah is third with 83. Zagumny owns the bulk of the team’s assists with 306 (7.65 per set), while fellow setter Erica Duffy is up to 179 (4.37 per set).
ODU’s back row is led by Gent with 154 digs (2.70 per set), followed by Adrienne Peji with 128 (2.17 per set) and Maggi with 106 (1.68 per set). Schelah and DiRocco have tallied 58 and 42 blocks, respectively.
Head coach Fred Chao is 71-103 overall and 20-46 in Sun Belt action during his time in Norfolk. He is in the seventh season at the helm.
About Georgia State
The Panthers (7-11, 1-5 Sun Belt) traveled to Hattiesburg, Mississippi last weekend and split their two matches with Southern Miss. They won the series opener, 3-1, but dropped their second tilt with the Golden Eagles, 3-1. Akira Burt was voted Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday after totaling 39 kills, 42 points, 19 digs and six blocks for the series. The senior also hit for a .257 clip and averaged 4.88 kills per set.
Burt currently leads the conference and is 17th in the country with 735 attacks. The Columbus, Georgia native is also second in the SBC and 14th in the nation with 318 points and is second in the league and 15th in Division I with 276 kills. Burt also sits third in the conference with 3.83 kills per set and 4.42 points per set. Sophia Johnson follows Burt in kills with 210, and Annelore Engels is the team’s primary setter with 446 assists (6.19 per set). Johnson has served 21 aces, followed by Mina Olgar with 19 and Julie Arias at 17. Johnson has also recorded a team-high 199 digs, though Sigrun Jonsdottir is right behind her with 190. At the net, Olgar and Jayden Eaker have made 73 blocks each.
As a team, the Panthers rank third in the Sun Belt with 1,055 digs and are fourth in total attacks (2,496), assists (815), blocks (168), and blocks per set (2.33). They were picked to finish sixth in the East Division in the Sun Belt’s Preseason Coaches’ Poll and are led by first year head coach Jorge Martinez, who took over the program in February 2026.
Up Next
The Monarchs will host a Sun Belt series versus Marshall next Friday and Saturday, Oct. 23-24. The first match against the Thundering Herd is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the second will start at 2 p.m. It will also be ODU’s Dig Pink and Alumni Weekend.