SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The University of New Orleans volleyball team fell to Missouri State and Nebraska-Omaha in a pair of three-set matches in the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn/Doubletree Hotel Invitational on Saturday.
MSU (5-5) opened the afternoon with a 25-12, 25-17, 25-8 victory over UNO (3-6) before Omaha (5-5) defeated the Privateers 25-19, 25-17, 25-18 in the nightcap.
In the first contest, Kaitlen Jaeger led the host Bears with 14 kills in 18 attempts without an error to produce a .778 hitting percentage for the match. MSU's offense followed her lead by totaling 46 kills in the contest with a collective .398 hitting percentage.
Early advantages for the hosts proved to provide the edge for MSU in the first and third sets. The Bears led 9-2 at the start of the match and jumped out to a 9-3 lead at the beginning of the third frame. Each advantage allowed the Bears to maintain control.
In the middle frame, UNO put forth a fight by hitting .105 in the frame and refusing to allow MSU to once again jump out to an early lead. The squads were tied four times early in the set before the Bears moved into the driver's seat once more.
The Privateers were led in defeat by
Brionne Smith, who contributed six kills.
Laila Hansen and
Taylor Berry added five kills apiece for the UNO.
Ryan Hamilton totaled 20 assists with Hansen and
Elena Villar posting seven digs.
Due to technical difficulties experienced by the host institution, a complete recap was unavailable for the nightcap against Omaha. This information is anticipated to be available early in the week.
UNO will resume its schedule on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. against Nicholls State in Thibodaux, La. The game was originally slated to take place at the Human Performance Center before changes to the schedule announced this past week.
