NEW ORLEANS - The University of New Orleans defeated I-10 rival
Louisiana-Lafayette 3-0 (25-10, 25-15, 25-19) on Thursday night at the
Human Performance Center as they matched the school-record with their
12th conference victory .
UNO (19-9, 12-5 SBC) was led in the victory by Dobrilla Kovacevic with 15 kills. Lindsey Loyd and Maria Szivos added another eight kills apiece. Jaci Bayley was the top setter in the match with 29 assists while Nicky Valenti had 13 digs. Loyd rounded out the double-figure digs with 10 of her own.
Amie Goodwin paced ULL (7-20, 4-13 SBC) with five kills. Kendra Hall had 12 assists while Lindsay Brown had a match-high 16 digs.
After a Ragin Cajun point made it 3-2 in the opening frame, UNO scored the next nine points to take a commanding 12-3 lead. Szivos had three consecutive aces during the run. Another Privateer run came a few points later as the host team scored seven straight points to come within one point of set point at 24-8. A Heather Ford kill would close out the set in favor of UNO at 25-10.
In the second set, UNO maintained a lead for the entire set after two ties early in the frame. With ULL within striking distance at 16-14, the Privateers scored 9 of 10 down the stretch to send UNO into the break with a 2-0 lead.
The Ragin Cajuns took their first lead of the match at 1-0 of the third set. ULL would take several leads, their last coming at 8-7 before UNO turned the tide with four straight points to put the advantage in the hands of the home team. The lead grew to five at 17-12 and while ULL would score four straight points to bring the deficit down to one, it was not enough to catch the Privateers who would win the final set 25-19.
The Privateers will wrap up the regular season on Saturday in a 12 p.m contest against Louisiana-Monroe. Prior to the match, Kovacevic and Bayley will be honored as part of "Senior Day" festivities.
