DALLAS - Dobrilla Kovacevic had her fifth double-double in six matches
as the University of New Orleans defeated Montana 3-0 (25-15, 25-19,
25-18) on Saturday afternoon in the SMU Radisson Invitational.
The win was not enough to win the second regular season tournament of
the year for UNO as SMU fell to Stephen F. Austin 3-2 in the final
match of the tournament, blowing a 2-0 set lead. A win by the host
Mustangs over SFA would have made the 2008 edition of the Privateer
volleyball team, the first since 1995 to win multiple regular-season
titles.
Kovacevic, an all-tournament selection, had 15 kills and 10 digs to
pace UNO (5-1). Lindsey Loyd joined Kovacevic in double-figure kills
with 10 of her own while Jaci Bayley had 36 assists. Nicky Valenti led
the Privateers in digs with 12.
Montana (4-3) went 1-2 during the weekend. The Grizzlies had four
players finish with five kills for the match including Taryn Wright,
who led the team with 22 assists. Brittney Brown had 11 digs for the
Big Sky conference school.
The Privateers started the opening set by setting the tone for the
remainder of the contest. After the set wast tied at nine, UNO went on
a 10-3 run to take a commanding lead before finishing the set by
scoring the final five points in a 25-15 victory that represented UNO's
largest margin of victory in set over the weekend.
Continuing their run from the first set into the second, Jozsef
Forman's squad took a 5-0 lead. Montana came back with a flourish,
tying the set at 8-8 before the Privateers took control of the set en
route to a 25-19 win, led by Kovacevic's seven kills and Bayley's 16
assists.
A strong start in the third set saw UNO take a 6-0 lead aided by two
Bayley aces. Five straight points by the Privateers at 13-8 push the
UNO lead to a commanding 10 points that the Grizzlies could not
overcome as the Privateers closed out the Grizzlies with a 25-18 final
set win.
UNO will be off til next weekend when they head to the Texas Tech Red
Raider Roundup in Lubbock. While in Texas for the second straight
weekend, the team will face the host Red Raiders, TCU and McNeese State.
