BEAUMONT, Texas – The University of New Orleans volleyball team dropped its season opener to Lamar 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-21) on Tuesday night at McDonald Gym.
A freshman starred for UNO (0-1) in the contest as
Brionne Smith pounded down 13 kills in 15 attempts without an attack error to lead the Privateer offense. Smith's .857 attack percentage paced the offense, which hit .153 for the match.
Smith wasted no time getting acclimated to the college game, tallying six kills in six attack attempts in the opening set for UNO. After UNO scored two of the first three points contested, LU (2-3) moved ahead for the remainder of the frame with the Privateers unable to get within two points following an 11-9 deficit.
While Smith was held to a single kill in the second frame, fellow newcomer
Marti Richmiller produced four of her five kills during the set. UNO led as late as 8-7 before the Cardinals reeled off six straight points. The lead grew to 10 points for LU, who headed into the break after posting consecutive 25-17 victories.
Out of the break, LU continued its hot streak by scoring the opening four points of the third set. Smith got back into the act offensively with six kills in the frame, helping the Privateers fight back to tie the game at 10-all and grab three leads, including a 16-15 advantage. The Cardinals got hot one more time to finish off the match with a 25-21 win.
LU received a match-high 14 kills from Sierra Whitaker. Other match-highs produced by the Cardinals included 11 digs by Cayli McKinney and 35 assists from Madi Martin.
UNO sophomore
Laila Hansen matched Richmiller for second on the Privateer roster with five kills. Hansen and freshman libero
Lauren Levy paced UNO with six digs apiece while setter
Ryan Hamilton contributed 24 assists.
Next on tap for the Privateers is a tournament at Texas Southern over the weekend. Due to Hurricane Isaac, the team intended to head straight to Houston following Tuesday's match.
UNO will face TSU on Friday at 3 p.m. to open the tournament followed by a match against Mississippi Valley State at 5 p.m. The weekend concludes Saturday at 11 a.m. with a contest against Prairie View A&M.
