Old Dominion (4-17, 0-10 Sun Belt) at Louisiana Tech (8-17, 0-10 Sun Belt)
Match Info – Friday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. ET | Saturday, Oct. 31 at 12 p.m. ET
Location – Thomas Assembly Center (Ruston, La.)
Watch – ESPN+ (Friday | Saturday)
Live Stats – Friday | Saturday
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion volleyball opens up a four-match road swinging with a trip to Ruston, Louisiana this weekend to play a Sun Belt series at Louisiana Tech. The Monarchs and Bulldogs will play at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, then return to Thomas Assembly Center for a 12 p.m. ET contest on Saturday.
Both matches in the Sun Belt series will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available.
The Series
ODU and LA Tech are meeting for the first time this weekend.
About ODU
The Monarchs (4-17, 0-10 Sun Belt) hosted a Sun Belt series versus Marshall last weekend, dropping both matches to the Thundering Herd. The visitors took the first match in straight sets, 3-0 last Friday. Katie Rakoski led ODU with 13 kills, Kyra Hampton recorded a 26-assist, 15-dig double-double, and Taylor Motes made five blocks. In the series finale on Saturday, ODU won the first set, 26-24, but Marshall took the next three. Leilani Lawrence finished with a team-high 16 kills, Rita Benidio contributed a 14-kill, 10-dig double-double, and Rakoski scored 14 kills. Hampton set a new career best with 44 assists, Ashlyn Gent and Erica Duffy had 22 and 13 digs, respectively, and Motes made six blocks.
Lawrence owns team highs of 257 kills (3.34 per set), 304 points, and 35 service aces, ranking fourth in the Sun Belt in aces and aces per set (0.45). Elisa Maggi follows her with 154 kills, Rakoski is up to 113 kills, and Benidio enters the week with 105 kills. At setter, Wiktoria Zagumny leads ODU with 314 assists (7.48 per set), Hampton is next with 203, and Duffy owns 179. On defense, Gent comes into this weekend’s series with 215 digs (2.99 per set) and Adrienne Peji is second on the team with 132 (2.06 per set). Emma Schelah has made 58 blocks, and Emma DiRocco is close behind her with 54 blocks.
The Monarchs are led by head coach Fred Chao, who is in his seventh season at ODU.
About LA Tech
The Bulldogs (8-17, 0-10 Sun Belt) are also looking for their first win in conference action and are coming off a 3-1 victory at Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday. Megan Cooley tallied 10 kills while hitting for a .500 clip, and Gabriell Hairston and Tyra McKinnie followed with nine kills each. Sydnee Carter finished the match with 23 assists, five aces, and six digs. Riley Steubing led the back row with 20 digs, and four Bulldogs recorded multiple blocks.
Taylor Woods is LA Tech’s leading scorer with 206 kills (2.58 per set) and 243 points. McKinnie is second in kills with 174, Hairston has 154, and Kylie Rodriguez is next with 149. Carter is the Bulldogs’ starting setter with 479 assists (5.99 per set) and has served 24 aces, while Steubing and Cooley have served 23 aces each. A libero and defensive specialist, Steubing currently ranks third in the Sun Belt and 37th nationally with 360 digs. She’s also fourth in the league and 38th in Division I with 4.50 digs per set. McKinnie is the team’s leader in blocks with 58, Violet Morrandez is second with 54, and Woods is third with 46.
As a team, the Bulldogs started the week ranked fourth in the SBC with 138 service aces and were fifth with 1.70 aces per set. LA Tech is led by head coach Scott Mattera, who is in his second season in Ruston. The Bulldogs were picked to finish sixth in the West Division in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
Up Next
ODU has its final road trip of the regular season next weekend when the Monarchs head to Harrisonburg, Virginia for a TowneBank Royal Rivalry series at James Madison. The two teams will play at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6 and at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7.