ODU volleyball ended their homestand on a high note with two match wins over the Georgia State Panthers. The Monarchs took both matches 3-0, giving the seniors of the volleyball squad a proper send-off.
Coming into the series, both teams sat towards the bottom of the Sun Belt. The visiting Panthers came in 5-18 (2-10 Sun Belt). ODU entered the contest closer to .500 at 11-15 (3-9 Sun Belt).
The Monarchs came out firing in the first match and did not back off. In the first set, ODU forced Georgia State to use both of its timeouts early, tallying a 5-0 and then a 12-4 lead. Despite the timeouts, the adjustments the Panthers made were to no avail as ODU took set one 25-10.
The second set started similar to the first as the Monarchs jumped out to a 5-0 lead. The Panthers were able to claw back to within two at 9-7 and gained momentum. The set stayed close through the middle portions until the Monarchs were able to tally a 6-0 run, giving them much-needed breathing room. A kill from Bailey Burgess sealed the set 25-16.
The Monarchs took the third set 25-14, with the match point sealed by a Burgess block.
With this, the Monarchs swept the Panthers on Thursday three sets to none, dominating in virtually all statistical categories.
Myah Conway’s performance on the day was dominant, with significant contributions in three categories. Conway finished with 14 kills, five blocks, and eight digs. . Burgess and Olivia De Jesus contributed two-way performances on the front line. Burgess finished with four kills and five blocks, while De Jesus tallied eight kills and four blocks. The Italian duo of Elisa Maggi and Alice Munari also both contributed to the attack with eight kills a piece on Thursday night.
On De Jesus’ performance, Chao said, “She played awesome. She really set a tone early on when she was getting blocks and making really quick, reactive plays.”
The Monarchs continued to dominate on Friday night… Seniors Tessa Mati, Olivia De Jesus, and Teresa continued to have playing time in the sets in honor of Senior Night, excluding Kira Smith who was unfortunately out due to injury.
In the first set, the Monarchs jumped out to a 9-3 lead thanks to an ace by Kate Kilpatrick and blocks by the duo of Conway and Burgess. The Panthers responded later with a 4-1 set that put them within striking distance at 22-18. Conway was able to thwart the threat with a kill, making the score 23-18. The Monarchs would take the first set 25-18 off a Panther attack error. Conway showed the same dominance as the previous night, tallying six kills in the first set alone.
The second set started with the Panthers and Monarchs close, only for ODU to pull away and take the set by 10. Burgess and De Jesus served as kick starters in this set, tallying blocks and an ace to keep the ODU momentum.
The third set in the evening was closely contested, as it can be challenging for one team to take six straight sets from an opponent. The Panthers feigned some momentum early on after winning a huge volley, leading 5-3. However, this momentum was extremely short-lived as the Monarchs were able to surge back and double GSU in score at 16-8, and then take the third set by ten at 25-15.
With this, ODU took the second match 3-0. Conway’s dominance continued on Friday evening, tallying a similar stat line with 17 kills, five blocks, and six digs. Burgess also contributed another balanced performance, with seven kills and six blocks.
Senior setter Teresea Atliano had a dominant performance in her final home series, tallying a combined 72 assists. This quality distribution for the offense gives the Monarchs momentum moving into the final regular season series against Southern Miss next weekend in Hattiesburg.
Looking to the approaching postseason, ODU women’s volleyball will square off in the Sun Belt tournament starting Wednesday, Nov. 15 in Foley, Alabama.
