DENVER, Colo. ? The University of New Orleans' 2007 volleyball season came to an end on Thursday, as No. 3 seed Western Kentucky defeated the No. 6 seed Privateers 3-1 (30-32, 30-25, 30-24, 30-24) in quarterfinal action of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
WKU's Megan Argabright had a match-high 21 kills and hit a stellar .500 as the Hilltoppers (26-7) advanced to Friday's tournament semifinals against the Denver-North Texas winner.
All-Sun Belt selection Lindsey Boler led the Privateers (16-16) with 14 kills, while Dobrilla Kovacevic tallied 13 kills and 16 digs. Nicky Valenti led UNO with 22 digs.
The Privateers, who defeated WKU 3-2 during the regular season, had the Hilltoppers' number again early.
UNO fought off a game point in the opener thanks to a Boler kill that tied the game at 29-29. After the two teams exchanged the next two points, the Privateers clinched the game thanks to back-to-back kills from Kaley Hubbard and Kovacevic.
WKU, though, recovered in the second set ? breaking an 8-8 tie by winning six of the next eight points. UNO did not get closer than two the rest of the game.
In the finale, UNO hung in with WKU until the middle of the set, when the Hilltoppers extended a 16-14 advantage to 21-14 with five straight points.
The Hilltoppers had a good defensive night with 14 total blocks. Argabright, an All-Sun Belt first-team member, had seven total blocks and helped hold UNO to a .122 hitting percentage.
UNO ended the season in third place in the Sun Belt West Division under first-year head coach Jozsef Forman.
