LUBBOCK, Texas - The University of New Orleans volleyball team began
play in the Texas Tech Red Raider Roundup falling to an undefeated
Texas Christian squad 3-2 (23-25, 25-17, 24-26, 25-20, 15-10) on Friday
evening.
TCU, which improved to 9-0 this season, was led by Kourtney Edwards and Lauren Otto, who had 17 and 15 kills, respectively. Devon Kirk added 12 kills to the Horned Frog attack while Nirelle Hampton had 47 assists.
On the defensive end, TCU had 18 blocks with Edwards having a hand in 10 of the 18. Three players had double-figure digs with Katelyn Blackwood totaling 21 digs.
UNO (5-2) was led by
Dobrilla Kovacevic,
Lindsey Loyd and
Maria Szivos who each had double-double performances on the night.
Kovacevic matched her season-high with 22 kills while also helping out defensively with 17 digs. Loyd joined in with two highs of her own, a season-high 18 kills to go along with a career-high of 18 digs while Szvios finished with 12 kills and a career-high 11 digs.
Other Privateers registering double-figure totals in the match were
Jaci Bayley with a season-high of 53 assists and
Nicky Valenti with 16 digs.
The first set found the Privateers trailing the Horned Frogs 17-13 before a 10-1 run following a
Jozsef Forman timeout put his team in the lead. Kills by Szivos and Kovacevic started the run highlighted while
Kaley Hubbard added two kills and a block for UNO during the spurt.
UNO would close out the opening frame 25-23 with Kovacevic and Szivos tallying six and five kills, respectively. Loyd had eight digs while Bayley had nine assists for the Privateers, who had 17 kills in taking a 1-0 lead.
The Privateers were not as fortunate in the second set after a tie at six in, TCU took off building a lead of six at 16-10 quickly and not letting UNO close the gap, eventually winning the set 25-17 behind five kills from Kirk and three from Edwards.
Following the break, UNO came out swinging jumping out to a 17-9 lead against their opposition as Loyd and Kovacevic had four kills apiece as the Privateers pulled away.
The Horned Frogs would not let UNO close out the third set without a rally of their own, eventually tying the score at 20. The Privateers missed out on two chances to take a 2-1 edge, before Loyd had kills on back-to-back points to give UNO a 26-24 win.
Loyd's two kills when the Privateers needed it most, gave her six for the set while Kovacevic had nine kills of her own. Bayley had 19 assists during the third set as UNO has 21 kills in the frame.
The fourth set saw the Privateers carry the momentum over from the previous set with UNO scoring the first four points. TCU got back in the game and after the teams tied at 15, the Horned Frogs scored 5 of 6 points to take a commanding lead enabling them to take the set 25-20.
In the fifth and final set, UNO built a lead as large as three at 6-3. After the Privateers took a 9-7 lead, TCU scored three straight to take their first lead since 1-0 when they took a 10-9 advantage. After a quick tie at 10, the Horned Frogs won the next five points to take their second five-set match of the day.
UNO will continue their three day stay in Lubbock with a 1:30 p.m match against Texas Tech on Saturday afternoon. The Privateers will wrap up the tournament on Sunday at 11 a.m against Oklahoma.
