Volleyball Looks To Break Through At Old Dominion
10/8/2026 6:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
NORFOLK, Va. --- Coastal Carolina continues a four-game stretch of Sun Belt Conference road matches with a two-game series at Old Dominion. The Chanticleers and Monarchs enter the weekend searching for their first Sun Belt victory.
The Chanticleers have dropped seven consecutive matches since completing a reverse sweep at Wofford on Sept. 10. Four of Coastal's losses during the stretch came against Tennessee, Indiana and NC State before the start of conference play. Old Dominion also carries a seven-match losing streak into the series. The Monarchs were swept at Georgia Southern last weekend after beginning conference play with two home losses to App State.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday, Oct. 9 - 6 p.m. | Live Stats
Saturday, Oct. 10 - 2 p.m. | ESPN+ | Live Stats
SCOUTING OLD DOMINION: Leilani Lawrence leads the Old Dominion attack. Entering last weekend, she ranked first in the Sun Belt in service aces and aces per set and fourth in the conference in both kills and points per set. Elisa Maggi provides another option on the outside, while Wiktoria Zagumny and Erica Duffy have shared the setting duties.Â
SERIES HISTORY: Coastal leads the all-time series with Old Dominion 5-3, with all eight meetings coming since ODU joined the Sun Belt in 2022. The Chanticleers are 4-0 against the Monarchs in Conway but 1-3 in Norfolk. Coastal's lone road victory in the series came in four sets on Oct. 15, 2022. Coastal swept last season's series at the HTC Center, winning both matches in straight sets. Old Dominion won both 2024 meetings in Norfolk by 3-1 scores.
LAST SEASON VS. ODU: Coastal swept both matches against Old Dominion on Oct. 3-4, 2025, in Conway. The Chanticleers closed the series with a 25-17, 27-25, 25-21 victory. The two wins were Coastal's first straight-set victories in the series.
BLOCK PARTY IN BOONE: Coastal finished Saturday's match with a season-high 17 blocks, nine more than App State. Hatteras Welker led the effort with a season-high nine blocks. Natalie Hughes and Anna Rita added six blocks apiece, while Talia Johnson finished with four. The 17-block performance raised Coastal's season average from 2.24 to 2.43 blocks per set. The Chanticleers have out-blocked their opponents 129-108 this season. Coastal has recorded at least seven blocks in 10 of its 13 matches.
CLOSING IN ON 500: Rita (499) and Welker (497) could both reach 500 career kills during the Old Dominion series. Rita has recorded 245 kills during her two seasons at Coastal after collecting 254 at Austin Peay. Welker has 105 kills in her first season as a Chanticleer after totaling 393 during two seasons at Eastern Michigan. Anzley Rinard became the first current Chanticleer to reach the milestone when she recorded her 500th career kill against Georgia Southern on Sept. 25. She enters the Old Dominion series with 523.
SPOHN HAS CAREER DAY: Jonna Spohn collected a career-high 31 digs in Saturday's five-set match at App State. Her previous career high was 26 against Queens on Aug. 30. She leads Coastal with 241 digs and ranks first on the team with 4.55 per set. Spohn enters the weekend with 588 collegiate digs, including 241 in her first season at Coastal.
LOESWICK STEPS IN: Bella Loeswick posted a career-high 42 assists in Saturday's match. Her previous career best was 21, which she had recorded twice. Loeswick also contributed eight digs as Coastal hit .219 and finished with 55 kills. She has 162 assists this season and has raised her average to 5.79 per set.
RINARD'S DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Rinard finished Saturday's match with 12 kills and 13 digs, recording her second double-double of the season. She leads Coastal with 122 kills and averages 2.49 per set. Rinard has reached double figures in kills four times this season and owns 523 kills during her collegiate career.
STRENGTH AT THE NET: Coastal's middle blockers have combined for 140 blocks this season: Welker (60), Hughes (48), Rita (32). Rita leads Coastal with a .326 attack percentage. Welker ranks second at .298 and leads the team in blocks, while Hughes is one of three Chants with more than 100 kills.
FIVE-SET EXPERIENCE: Saturday marked Coastal's fifth five-set match of the season. The Chanticleers are 2-3 in those contests. Coastal defeated Queens and Wofford in five sets and has dropped five-set decisions to UConn, NC State and App State. Four of the five deciding sets have been determined by four points or fewer.
The Chanticleers have dropped seven consecutive matches since completing a reverse sweep at Wofford on Sept. 10. Four of Coastal's losses during the stretch came against Tennessee, Indiana and NC State before the start of conference play. Old Dominion also carries a seven-match losing streak into the series. The Monarchs were swept at Georgia Southern last weekend after beginning conference play with two home losses to App State.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday, Oct. 9 - 6 p.m. | Live Stats
Saturday, Oct. 10 - 2 p.m. | ESPN+ | Live Stats
SCOUTING OLD DOMINION: Leilani Lawrence leads the Old Dominion attack. Entering last weekend, she ranked first in the Sun Belt in service aces and aces per set and fourth in the conference in both kills and points per set. Elisa Maggi provides another option on the outside, while Wiktoria Zagumny and Erica Duffy have shared the setting duties.Â
SERIES HISTORY: Coastal leads the all-time series with Old Dominion 5-3, with all eight meetings coming since ODU joined the Sun Belt in 2022. The Chanticleers are 4-0 against the Monarchs in Conway but 1-3 in Norfolk. Coastal's lone road victory in the series came in four sets on Oct. 15, 2022. Coastal swept last season's series at the HTC Center, winning both matches in straight sets. Old Dominion won both 2024 meetings in Norfolk by 3-1 scores.
LAST SEASON VS. ODU: Coastal swept both matches against Old Dominion on Oct. 3-4, 2025, in Conway. The Chanticleers closed the series with a 25-17, 27-25, 25-21 victory. The two wins were Coastal's first straight-set victories in the series.
BLOCK PARTY IN BOONE: Coastal finished Saturday's match with a season-high 17 blocks, nine more than App State. Hatteras Welker led the effort with a season-high nine blocks. Natalie Hughes and Anna Rita added six blocks apiece, while Talia Johnson finished with four. The 17-block performance raised Coastal's season average from 2.24 to 2.43 blocks per set. The Chanticleers have out-blocked their opponents 129-108 this season. Coastal has recorded at least seven blocks in 10 of its 13 matches.
CLOSING IN ON 500: Rita (499) and Welker (497) could both reach 500 career kills during the Old Dominion series. Rita has recorded 245 kills during her two seasons at Coastal after collecting 254 at Austin Peay. Welker has 105 kills in her first season as a Chanticleer after totaling 393 during two seasons at Eastern Michigan. Anzley Rinard became the first current Chanticleer to reach the milestone when she recorded her 500th career kill against Georgia Southern on Sept. 25. She enters the Old Dominion series with 523.
SPOHN HAS CAREER DAY: Jonna Spohn collected a career-high 31 digs in Saturday's five-set match at App State. Her previous career high was 26 against Queens on Aug. 30. She leads Coastal with 241 digs and ranks first on the team with 4.55 per set. Spohn enters the weekend with 588 collegiate digs, including 241 in her first season at Coastal.
LOESWICK STEPS IN: Bella Loeswick posted a career-high 42 assists in Saturday's match. Her previous career best was 21, which she had recorded twice. Loeswick also contributed eight digs as Coastal hit .219 and finished with 55 kills. She has 162 assists this season and has raised her average to 5.79 per set.
RINARD'S DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Rinard finished Saturday's match with 12 kills and 13 digs, recording her second double-double of the season. She leads Coastal with 122 kills and averages 2.49 per set. Rinard has reached double figures in kills four times this season and owns 523 kills during her collegiate career.
STRENGTH AT THE NET: Coastal's middle blockers have combined for 140 blocks this season: Welker (60), Hughes (48), Rita (32). Rita leads Coastal with a .326 attack percentage. Welker ranks second at .298 and leads the team in blocks, while Hughes is one of three Chants with more than 100 kills.
FIVE-SET EXPERIENCE: Saturday marked Coastal's fifth five-set match of the season. The Chanticleers are 2-3 in those contests. Coastal defeated Queens and Wofford in five sets and has dropped five-set decisions to UConn, NC State and App State. Four of the five deciding sets have been determined by four points or fewer.
Players Mentioned
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