DALLAS - The University of New Orleans volleyball team split a pair of
matches to open up play in the SMU Radisson Invitational on Friday.
The Privateers (4-1) opened up play with a 3-1 loss (19-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-23) to Stephen F. Austin in the afternoon before coming back in the evening and winning a 3-1 match over SMU (25-22, 20-25, 25-19, 25-21).
In the first match of the tournament, Lauren Railey led SFA (2-2) with 13 kills and was joined in double-digits by Amber Williams-Roberts who added 10 kills. Whitney Schott and Melissa Miksch had 18 and 16 assists, respectively while Laurel Kuepker had 25 digs for the Ladyjacks.
UNO had three players with double-digit kills against SFA led by
Maria Szivos with 14.
Lindsey Loyd and
Dobrilla Kovacevic followed with 13 and 11, respectively.
Jaci Bayley had 30 assists for the Privateers who were led defensively by
Nicky Valenti's 21 digs. Kovacevic and Bayley each achieved double-doubles by adding 13 and 10 digs, respectively, to their offensive numbers.
In the opening set, head coach
Jozsef Forman called a timeout after a Miksch service ace pulled the Ladyjacks within two points of Privateers at 20-18. The instructions paid off as Loyd had two kills for UNO during a stretch which saw the Privateers score 5 of 6 points to win the frame 25-19.
The second set did not go as well for the Privateers who found themselves on the wrong side of a 4-1 deficit early against the Ladyjacks. UNO eventually tied the set at nine, but it was SFA who responded going on an 11-3 run that kept the Privateers at bay in a 25-19 set win for the Ladyjacks.
A 3-0 UNO start led off the third set after the break with the lead eventually expanding to four at 8-4. As they did in the second set, SFA responded. The Ladyjacks went on a 9-1 run, turning a four-point disadvantage into a four-point advantage at 13-9. Pulling within one point at 17-16 was all UNO could must before SFA reeled off an 8-2 run to close out the set 25-18.
Down 2-1 in sets won, the Privateers entered a fourth set for the first time this season without a chance to take the match. With their backs against the wall, UNO took a lead as large as six at 12-6. SFA rallied on the back of Railey who came up with multiple kills during a run that tied the score at 15.
The two teams swapped leads with the Jacks emerging from the final tie at 21 apiece, closing the set out on a Shelly Swendig kill for a 25-23 final set win.
In the second match of the day, UNO was led by the high-powered offensive trio of Loyd, Kovacevic and Szivios once more as the Privateers hit .313 for the match. Kovacevic had a season-high 22 kills and was followed by Loyd and Szvios who had 17 and 14 kills, respectively.
Bayley had 44 assists in the match to set up the attack while Valenti had 25 digs to lead the defensive end for the Privateers. Loyd had her first double-double of the tournament adding 13 digs to her double-figure kills while Kovacevic notched her second double-double of the day adding 11 digs.
SMU (4-2) was led by Kathryn Wilkerson's 13 kills and 9 digs. Kendra Kahanek and Dana Powell had 12 and 11 kills, respectively to round out the Mustangs offensive efforts. Powell and Sidney Stewart had 12 digs apiece.
UNO took the opening set against the Mustangs, pounding down 17 kills to take a 25-22 victory. Loyd led the way for the Privateers in the set with five kills followed by Kovacevic and Szivos who had four apiece.
The second set continued to show how strong the Privateer offense was as UNO had 14 kills, but the SMU offense led by Wilkerson's seven kills were too much to handle. Like in the match against SFA, UNO could not finish the set strong as the Mustangs scored 9 of 13 points to close out the set, breaking a 16-16 tie to take a 25-20 set win.
Kovacevic and Loyd led a charge in the third set with three kills apiece during a 10-3 run that broke open a 12-10 game. UNO reached set point at 24-16 before SMU scored three straight points which led to a Forman timeout. After breaking the huddle, Loyd closed out the set with a kill giving UNO a 25-19 win.
There was no turning back for the Privateers in the fourth set. A SMU service error followed by a block by Loyd and
Kaley Hubbard started a run that opened the set up for UNO, giving the team a lead as large as seven. SMU would cut into the lead before a Kovacevic kill put UNO into the win column.
The Privateers will close out the tournament with a 1 p.m contest against Montana. The Grizzlies opened play with a 3-0 loss to SMU before defeating SFA 3-1. With a win over Montana and a SMU win over SFA, UNO would win their second tournament title of the fall.
Live stats for the UNO-Montana match will be available on the tournament web site, located at http://smumustangs.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/08-smu-radisson-invite.html
