By Katherine Jamtgaard. NORFOLK, Va. — The App State volleyball team fell short vs. Old Dominion on Oct. 12, 3-0, (13-25, 16-25, 21-25). After splitting the weekend in Norfolk, App State stands 9-6 on the season and 3-1 in Sun Belt Conference play.
“ODU is a good volleyball team and we are happy we were able to win night one. While we are not happy with the result today, we will take the split on the road,” said head coach Sarah Rumely Noble. “We will get better this week in practice and stay driven to get better every day.”
Old Dominion 3, App State 0
Freshman Elise Marchal led the Mountaineers with a team high 10 kills and 10 digs for her third consecutive double-double and sixth double-double on the season. Fellow freshman Bella Hutchens matched her career high nine kills, which she originally recorded on Sept. 21 against Davidson and first matched on Sept. 27 against James Madison. Redshirt junior Addison Heidemann registered 27 of the Mountaineers’ 34 assists and made seven digs. Heidemann and senior Lulu Ambrose served up the Black and Gold’s sole pair of aces.
Old Dominion commanded the first two sets. The Mountaineers chipped away at ODU’s early 6-0 lead with kills from junior Maya Winterhoff and Marchal and an ODU error. Winterhoff and Marchal combined for six of the App State’s 10 kills in the first set. Despite the Mountaineers’ efforts to close the deficit, ODU took the first set, 25-13.
In the second set, ODU once again pulled ahead early. The Mountaineers cut the deficit to four (14-10), building off kills from Marchal and Winterhoff. Winterhoff, Marchal, and Hutchens combined for nine of the Black and Gold’s 11 kills over the course of the set. App State came back within four (20-16) after a Hutchens kill and pair of ODU errors, but despite the Mountaineers’ efforts, ODU took the set, 25-16.
App State and ODU knotted the score six times and swapped the lead twice early in the third and final set. The Mountaineers built off kills from Winterhoff, Marchal, Ambrose, and sophomore Ava Leahy to knot the score at 4-4. Ambrose served up an ace to give the Mountaineers a 5-4 edge. A kill from Hutchens tied the score at 7-7 , but the Monarchs found momentum. App State found a spark late in the set, chipping away at the deficit with a kill from Hutchens, an ace from Heidemann, and kills from Marchal and Ambrose. It wasn’t enough as the Monarchs took the set 25-21, and the match, 3-0.
