NEW ORLEANS - The University of New Orleans volleyball team returned home after three weeks on the road and defeated Nicholls State 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-19) at the Human Performance Center on Wednesday night.
UNO (7-3) was led in the victory by Dobrilla Kovacevic and Lindsey Loyd who had 19 and 11 kills, respectively. Maria Szivos rounded out the attack with nine kills.
Jaci Bayley and Cassidy Asebroek each had 16 assists while on the defensive end, Nicky Valenti had nine digs.
NSU (1-6) was led by Rachel Spreen with eight kills while Amy Whitehead had 21 assists. Danielle Daigle had six digs for the Colonels.
After both teams took turns in the driver's seat to begin the opening set, UNO broke open a 9-9 deadlock scoring 10 of 13 points to take a seven-point lead on NSU. The Privateers took advantage of a .367 hitting percentage in the set with Loyd and Kovacevic tallying five and four kills, respectively.
The second set saw UNO jump on NSU early scoring 5 of 6 after a 2-2 tie to open play in the frame to take a 7-3 lead. After the Colonels closed the gap to one at 8-7, the Privateers offense picked up once more going on a 15-3 run to take a commanding 23-10 lead.
NSU held off four set points, but it was the UNO offense with a .483 hitting percentage for the frame that eventually closed out the set on a Loyd kill. The Privateers hit .483 for the frame led by Kovacevic with six kills. Loyd and Szivos joined in with four kills apiece.
A close third set would not lean either way until UNO turned a 16-14 lead into a 20-15 advantage. Asebroek played a major role in the Privateer offense down the stretch as UNO closed the match contributing a block, a kill and several assists during the run.
Coach Jozsef Forman's squad will enjoy the weekend off before jumping into conference play with a Sept. 25 tilt against Arkansas State on the road.
