NEW ORLEANS, La. – The New Orleans Privateers volleyball team dropped three close sets as Southland Conference foe Abilene Christian took a 3-0 victory at the Human Performance Center on Saturday.
In a match that featured 30 ties and 17 lead changes, the Privateers (3-23, 0-13 SLC) fought hard through each set, but ACU (6-13, 2-9 SLC) was able to come away with three tight victories in each. The first two sets were decided by just two points, while the third set was a three-point advantage.
The Wildcats managed a 25-23 win in the first set to begin the match, but the Privateers continued to hang tough in the second set and forced ACU to score 28 points to close out the set 28-26. In the final frame, UNO put up another good fight, but the Wildcats took the set 25-22 to close out the match.
The match was close all the way through as ACU and UNO were nearly equal in three major statistical categories: kills (ACU 40, UNO 39), assists (ACU 37, UNO 36), and digs (ACU 50, UNO 49).
Ariane Labrzycki led the Privateers defensively with 15 digs.
Celeste Ramirez and
Lauren Levy also reached double figures in digs as Ramirez posted 12, and Levy recorded 10. Ramirez also doled out 31 assists.
Taylor Berry led the Privateer offensive front with 10 kills and 13.5 points.
Alyssa Podwell also applied eight kills.
The Wildcats spread the wealth defensively as all but one player recorded a dig. Sophomore Madison Hoover led the way with 15 digs. ACU churned out a solid effort offensively as two players reached double digits in kills. Freshman Dorothy Swanson led the Wildcats with 14, and sophomore Jennifer Loerch had 10 kills. Sophomore Sarah Siemens recorded 26 assists.
Next up for the Privateers is a trip to Hammond to face off against Southeastern Louisiana on November 2. UNO returns home for a pair of contests at the HPC starting Thursday, November 7 with Northwestern State and two days later against Stephen F. Austin.
