Golden Eagles Earn Gritty Conference Road Win at Old Dominion

Thursday, October 23

Norfolk, Va. / ODU Volleyball Center

5 p.m. CT / 6 p.m. ET

Southern Miss

14-6,6-3Sun Belt

Old Dominion

4-16,1-8Sun Belt

Southern Miss.

Old Dominion

Golden Eagles Earn Gritty Conference Road Win at Old Dominion

10/23/2025 7:22:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. -- Southern Miss (14-6, 6-3 Sun Belt) battled early adversity on Thursday night before it came from behind to beat Old Dominion (4-16, 1-8 Sun Belt) 3-1 in a key Sun Belt volleyball match on the road.

Redshirt freshman Emily Davis had a huge night as the Brandon, Miss. native finished with a career-high 14 kills on 35 attempts. Meanwhile, Sophomore Morgen Durgens dished out a career-high 44 assists and had eight digs.

The Golden Eagles came out slow in the first set, falling 25-12 to the Monarchs in Norfolk, Va. The Golden Eagles, though, were backed by strong offensive efforts from the trio of Sadie McAda, Emily Davis, and Brynn Botkin, who combined for 44 kills. Southern Miss evened things up in the second set with a 25-21 win, but it wasn't until late in the frame that the Golden Eagles took control. Old Dominion held an 18-17 lead, then Botkin delivered a kill that started a 6-0 run to put Southern Miss ahead 23-18. The Monarchs' attempted comeback was slashed as McAda recorded the final two kills to secure the set win.

The third set went much of the same way as Old Dominion held a 20-18 lead late in the set. McAda answered the bell again, and Southern Miss used that kill to start a 7-2 run to flip the score to 24-21 in favor of the road team. The Monarchs got within one before Davis slammed the door with a kill to give Southern Miss a 2-1 lead. For the first time all match, Southern Miss finally jumped ahead early in the fourth set. The Golden Eagles took an early 4-0 lead after kills from McAda, Davis, and Elly Stewart. Southern Miss led by as many as seven midway through the set, but Old Dominion strung together points to pull within two at 17-15.

Southern Miss was the first team to 20 in the final set, which proved crucial because the Monarchs quickly ripped off a 4-2 run to make it 23-21 and, in turn, forced Southern Miss to call a timeout. Stewart took a Durgens set to give the Golden Eagles match point, but Old Dominion answered back with another point. The next play, Botkin delivered the game-winning kill to give the Golden Eagles their 14^th win of the season, their most since the 2022 season.

McAda finished her night with a game-high 17 kills and capped off her double-double with 13 digs. The junior also had three blocks and two service aces. Botkin ended the match with 13 kills, nine digs, and three service aces.

Southern Miss and Old Dominion meet one more time this week as the two are slated to meet at 5 p.m. on Friday at the ODU Volleyball Center.

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