RUSTON, La. – Old Dominion volleyball held a 2-1 overall lead in the match, but Louisiana Tech rallied for a 3-2 final to split the Sun Belt series on Saturday afternoon at the Thomas Assembly Center.
“We ended up on the wrong side of a hard-fought match. Hats off to LA Tech for elevating their serving and attacking game. We played some good volleyball but didn’t have enough players playing well at the same time,” said ODU head coach Fred Chao.
With the loss, ODU now stands at 5-18 overall and 1-11 in conference play.
LA Tech 3, ODU 2
ODU trailed 4-2 early in the first set when Elisa Maggi terminated a ball from Wiktoria Zagumny and served back-to-back aces to highlight a 4-0 run that put the Monarchs in front, 6-4. The Silver and Blue extended their lead, 12-7 with a kill by Rita Benidio, a bad set by LA Tech’s Sydnee Carter, and an ace from Benidio. The Bulldogs (9-18, 1-11 Sun Belt) pulled to within 17-16 on an ace by Carter, but a couple of Katie Rakoski kills and an attack error by LA Tech’s Kylie Rodriguez gave ODU some room at 20-16. The home team couldn’t get back into the set, and the Monarchs captured the first set at 25-19.
Old Dominion fell behind, 9-5 in the second set, but a LA Tech service error, an ace by Zagumny, and another kill for Rakoski trimmed the hosts’ lead to 9-8. After slipping to 19-14 at the media timeout, a kill by Benidio and consecutive aces from Zagumny cut the deficit to 19-17. Emma DiRocco and Rakoski denied an attack attempt by Jenna Hehman, and then DiRocco and Maggi recorded another block on the next rally to knot the set at 21-21. However, the Bulldogs used a 4-0 run to close it out and knot the match at a set apiece.
In the third, Benidio and DiRicco both served an ace to help put ODU ahead, 4-1 in the early going. Kills by Maggi and Benidio along with a solo block from Emma Schelah increased the Monarch lead to 8-3. The Bulldogs caught up at 12-12 and remained close for the rest of the way. Facing set point and trailing 24-23, an attack error by Hehman and a bad set by Krohn allowed ODU to pull ahead. Erica Duffy then assisted Benidio as ODU won another set, 26-24.
The Monarchs dug themselves a 7-3 hole to begin the fourth set, but an Atlyn Proctor kill capped off a 4-0 run that trimmed LA Tech’s lead to 13-12. Later on, ODU would pull ahead, 20-16 as Ashlyn Gent served an ace and Benidio converted three attack attempts. The Silver and Blue couldn’t hold off the Bulldogs though as two aces by Tyra McKinnie highlighted an 8-0 push to close out the set, 25-21 in favor of the home team.
In the decisive set, LA Tech raced out to a 7-1 advantage as ODU was forced to burn an early timeout. Two kills by Maggi and another from Schelah narrowed the gap, 7-4, but the Bulldogs took off with another five unanswered points. Proctor scored another kill, Zagumny and Schelah made a block, and LA Tech’s Taylor Woods committed an attack error as ODU trailed, 12-7. Zagumny assisted Schelah and an attack error by Gabrielle Hairston had the Monarchs within four at 13-9, but the Bulldogs won the next two rallies to close out the match, 15-9.
Benidio hit .283 in the match and led ODU’s attack with a new career best of 20 kills. The Porto, Portugal native served two aces and flirted with a double-double, tallying nine digs. Rakoski was the other Monarch in double figures with 12 kills, while Maggi and Schelah had nine each. Zagumny posted a new season high of 49 assists, served a team-high three aces, and added 10 digs for her third double-double of the season. Gent recorded a team-best 16 digs, Duffy was next with 12 digs, and Maggi added 10 digs and two aces to her final line. Four Monarchs made multiple blocks, led by Schelah with five.
ODU combined to hit .193 on the day, to include a .379 mark in the opening set, whereas LA Tech swung for a .228 clip. The Monarchs edged the Bulldogs in digs, 63-60, but the hosts had more kills (60-57), service aces (12-10), and blocks (12-7). Both teams tallied 54 assists. There were 17 ties in Saturday’s match, to include eight in the third set, and only five lead changes.
Up Next
ODU continues its road swing next week with a TowneBank Royal Rivalry series at James Madison. The Monarchs and Dukes will play at 6 p.m. next Friday, Nov. 6 and at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7.