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Saturday
NEW ORLEANS - Winners in their only home match this season, the University of New Orleans volleyball program will look to continue the trend when they host a pair of Gulf South Conference foes at Lakefront Arena this weekend.
UNO (2-8, 0-3 GSC) will welcome Alabama-Huntsville on Friday at 7 p.m. and West Alabama at 2 p.m. on Saturday as the Privateers take to the main floor at Lakefront Arena for the first time since the 2004 Sun Belt Conference tournament.
This season, UNO is 1-5 on the road and 0-3 in neutral site matches compared to their 1-0 mark at home.
With 14 games remaining on the slate, the Privateers can enjoy the comforts of home as nine of the remaining contests will be played on campus. A 10th match will occur within the city limits at Xavier.
Through three conference matches, UNO has seen its production drop on the offensive end. The Privateers have tallied just 7.44 kills per set in league contests compared to 10.03 overall.
Laila Hansen continues to be the top threat across the board with team-bests of 3.41 kills overall and 2.78 kills a set in league play.
Head coach Kim Young-Buford will look to the continued growth of
Tory Hearn, who is second on the team in league play with 1.44 kills a frame after taking a more active role in the rotation last week.
UAH (5-10, 1-2 GSC) is 3-5 at home and 2-5 on the road heading into Friday. Nearly half of the Chargers' losses on the slate have come in five-set affairs as UAH has gone 0-4 when reaching the deciding set.
Four players average at least two kills a frame for the Chargers, led by Jessie Ruple with 3.02 kills a set. Kelsey Williams, Angela Thurmond and Carrie Brown join Ruple in accomplishing the task for an offense that is hitting .214 on the season.
UWA (12-3, 3-0 GSC) has won six straight entering their Friday night contest at West Florida. The Tigers put together six straight victories at the start of the season and won 3-2 at UAH on Tuesday night.
Libero Casey Byrnes is the reigning GSC 'Defensive Player of the Week' after posting 6.53 digs per set last week to lift UWA to a 4-0 week. Angela Sanders is the top offensive player on the squad with 3.56 kills a frame.
Following this weekend's matches, UNO will step out of conference to face crosstown foe Xavier (La.) for the first time in school history. The contest will take place at The Barn at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
