MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The New Orleans Privateer volleyball program gained a split on Friday's opening day of competition at the Alabama State/ISTAP Collegiate Cup.
UNO (1-9) was defeated 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-22) by host ASU (3-6) in the early afternoon before returning to the court several hours later for a 3-1 (25-15, 22-25, 25-17, 25-16) win over Savannah State.
The victory over SSU (0-10) ended a season-opening nine-match losing skid for the Privateers.
In the nightcap, the duo of senior
Marti Richmiller and freshman
Cara Sander led the way for UNO with 11 and 10 kills, respectively. The performance was the second straight double-figure performance for Sander.
Behind the efforts of Richmiller and Sander, the Privateer offense hit a season-high .184 for the match against the Tigers. It was the fourth straight match in which UNO produced a season-best hitting percentage, a streak that began in a five-set loss to Louisiana Tech last weekend.
Alyssa Podwell and
Celeste Ramirez also contributed heavily to the offensive success.
Podwell totaled seven kills in the match while Ramirez distributed 30 assists – three shy of her career-high. Podwell's output included three straight kills in the fourth set as UNO broke a 10-all tie, the last knotted score between the two squads in the contest.
Defensively,
Lauren Levy totaled 25 digs. The mark represents the second-highest total in the two-year career of the Archbishop Chapelle product, one shy of her career-best accomplished against Nicholls State last season.
Christian Lyle and Biana Brochu led SSU with 11 and 10 kills, respectively. The Tigers struggled the entire match with serving, being charged with 14 service errors and misplaying 13 Privateer serves.
Earlier in the day, UNO was unable to capitalize on the momentum of a first set win in a loss to ASU.
Kelsea Hundtoft had a career-high 14 kills to lead the Privateers in the match. Hundtoft's mark also represented the most for a member of the UNO roster this year. Sander added 11 kills, including five in the opening set victory for the Privateers.
Ramirez contributed her second double-double of the season with 24 assists and a team-high 10 digs.
Ariane Labrzycki chipped in 13 assists while Levy finished second on the squad with nine digs.
The host Hornets received a match-high 23 kills from Amber Bennett and 15 more from Tiara Kelley. The duo accounted for 38 of ASU's 55 kills in the contest.
UNO trailed 21-17 in the opening set, before making move behind back-to-back kills from Sander to launch a late rally. Sander's kills ignited an 8-2 run that gave the Privateers their lone set win in the contest.
The momentum gained by winning the first stanza would be short-lived as ASU responded by never relinquishing the lead in the second set. The Hornets remained in the driver's seat for most of the third and fourth set, never trailing after the first few exchanges in each frame.
UNO is scheduled to open the second day of the ASU/ISTAP Collegiate Cup on Saturday at 11 a.m. against Jacksonville State before facing off against Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 5 p.m.
