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Laila Hansen - UNOPrivateers.com Student-Athlete of the Week
NEW ORLEANS - The University of New Orleans volleyball program will play the first of 10 home matches on Tuesday as they host Alcorn State at 7 p.m. at the Human Performance Center.
Tuesday's contest is one of two home matches on the 2011 slate scheduled to take place at the HPC. The remaining home events with the exception of a Nov. 2 match against Southern (N.O.) will occur at Lakefront Arena.
UNO (0-4) enters the week seeking their first win of the campaign after dropping all four contests at the Millsaps Invitational in Jackson, Miss. this past weekend.
With eight freshmen on the roster, second-year head coach Kim Young is letting her young program grow with on the court experience. As the team put more sets under their belt as the opening weekend wore on, the squad showed vast improvement.
Freshman outside hitter
Laila Hansen (Chugiak, Ak.) was the top offensive threat through four matches. Hansen accumulated 46 kills for a team-best 3.54 kills per set which included a season-best 17 in a four-set loss to Martin Methodist.
Freshman middle blocker
Jasmyne Walker (Austin, Texas) ranks second on the squad with 2.08 kills per set while topping the roster with six service aces.
Setting up the offense was
Ryan Hamilton (Prairieville, La.), who averaged eight assists per set and has earned the respect of her teammates by being named a co-captain with lone senior
Evelyn Kovacs.
Rounding out the freshmen starters were libero
Jessie Mouton (Lafayette, La.) and outside hitter
Elena Villar (Gonzales, La.). Mouton averaged 4.62 digs per set while Villar ranked right behind Mouton with 3.08 digs a frame.
Like UNO, Tuesday's opponent Alcorn State brings a 0-4 record into Tuesday.
The Lady Braves have struggled historically against Young, posting a 1-14 mark against the Privateer coach from her days at Grambling.
This season, ASU dropped three matches at a tournament hosted by LSU before falling in their home opener to NAIA foe Belhaven. The Lady Braves are in the midst of a three-match swing through the Crescent City, as they will play the Privateers, Dillard and SUNO on consecutive days.
As of early Monday afternoon, no individual or team statistics were available from ASU or the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
General admission tickets for Privateer volleyball matches go on sale an hour before first serve and can be purchased at the entrance. Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for youth (ages 6-17) and seniors (65+).
Students are admitted for free to all UNO home contests with a valid student ID.
UNO BLUE KREWE TAILGATE – 5 P.M.
To help usher in the season, the UNO Blue Krewe spirit organization will host a tailgate outside of the HPC beginning at 5 p.m. Free food and drinks will provided to students, who are also admitted free to all athletic events with a valid student ID.
