HARRISONBURG, Va. - Old Dominion volleyball split the weekend series at James Madison as the Monarchs fell in straight sets, 3-0 against the Dukes on Saturday afternoon.
The Monarchs fall to 6-19 overall, including 2-12 in the Sun Belt Conference.
"We fought well but were slightly off the mark today," said ODU head coach Fred Chao. "On top of that, [Kennedy] Louisell did what she is capable of and tipped the scales for JMU. In spite of the loss, it was good to see our players continue to battle."
JMU 3, ODU 0
ODU grabbed an early, 2-1 lead against the Dukes after Emma Schelah recorded a kill, but JMU went on a 2-0 run to regain the lead, 3-2. JMU’s Melisa Ilter and a block assist by Anna Wilson and Addie Norman gave the Dukes the advantage.
The opening set was tied at 15-15 before the hosts went on a 5-1 run to take control, 20-16. ODU clawed the set back to 22-20 after a service error by Wilson, the JMU won the next three points to gain a 1-0 match advantage from a 25-20 first set.
The Dukes stormed out to a 7-2 lead in the second set after going on a 5-0 run with the game knotted at 2-2 early on. ODU called a timeout to talk things over and came back out to earn a point from an Elisa Maggi kill, 7-3. ODU’s Ashlyn Gent forced an error from the Dukes on her next serve to make it 7-4.
ODU cut the Dukes to two points at 11-9 after back-to-back points by Leilani Lawerence put the Monarchs in striking distance. But, the Dukes regained a four-point cushion and ODU called timeout to talk things over. But this time the Dukes were able to maintain momentum and cruise to a 25-15 set win to go up 2-0.
ODU opened the third set with a 4-1 run from three kills by Lawerence and one from Maggi. The Dukes worked themselves back into the set with a kill by Kennedy Louisell, a block and two kills by Wilson put the home side up, 6-5.
ODU kept the third set close until the score was 11-11. The Dukes then finished the game off with a 14-7 run that was capped off by four straight points. Maggi had an attack error, Louisell had two kills and Wilson got the Dukes to set point with another kill.
Lawrence hit .238 in the match and led ODU with 16 kills, adding six digs and one block to her totals. Schelah followed with seven kills and two blocks, while Kyra Hampton tallied 26 assists, three digs, two blocks, and one ace. Rita Benidio served two aces, and libero Ashlyn Gent finished with a team-high digs.
ODU combined to hit .210 in the match. The Monarchs had 36 kills, 28 assists, three aces, 33 digs, and four blocks. There were 20 ties and nine lead changes.
UP NEXT:
ODU will be back in Norfolk next weekend to host ULM for its final two matches of the regular season. First serve on Friday, Nov. 13 is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the Monarchs and Warhawks will play 2 p.m. next Saturday, Nov. 14 in what will mark Senior Day for Old Dominion.