UNO-SFA Live Stats
UNO-NSU Live Stats
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The 18-match Southland Conference campaign gets underway this week for the New Orleans Privateer volleyball team, starting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at Stephen F. Austin.
UNO (2-10, 0-0 Southland) will also face Northwestern State on Saturday at 2 p.m. during its' two-match swing to start the conference slate. Both matches will feature live coverage through their respective athletic web sites.
The goal for the Privateers entering league play is simple – advance to the conference tournament. The top eight teams in the Southland at the conclusion of the regular season will head to Corpus Christi, Texas for the annual event slated for Nov. 22-24.
As it heads into the weekend's action, UNO has five players averaging at least one kill per set led by the duo of senior
Marti Richmiller and freshman
Cara Sander with 1.77 kills per set apiece.
Sander was named UNOPrivateers.com Student-Athlete of the Week on Monday following her offensive efforts of a week ago which included 2.47 kills and 2.18 digs per frame as the Privateers won 2 of 5 contests.
The continued development of Sander and several of the other newcomers in the UNO offense will rely heavily on the team's ability to pass the ball around.
Celeste Ramirez and
Ariane Labrzycki have shared time at the setter position, averaging 4.58 and 3.77 assists per set, respectively.
Solid passing also begins at the backline where
Lauren Levy is averaging a team-best 3.33 digs per set. Twice named an All-Tournament selection in the non-conference portion of the schedule, Levy has totaled 20 or more digs in a single match twice this year.
Across the court this week, UNO will face a pair of seasoned teams anticipated to make the Southland tournament. SFA (8-4, 0-0 SLC) was picked third in the league preseason poll while NSU (3-8, 0-0 SLC) was picked fifth by the league's coaches.
The Lumberjacks enter Thursday's match against the Privateers on a two-match winning streak after dispatching Grambling State and Houston last weekend at TCU.
SFA is led offensively by Jilly Ivy and Tori Bates, who produce 3.33 and 3.00 kills per set, respectively. Reigning SLC Player of the Week Justice Walker adds 2.46 kills a frame for the Lumberjacks.
Paige Holland handles setting duties with an average of 8.94 assists per set with OJ Olson topping the SFA efforts on the defensive end with 4.76 digs each stanza.
The Demons will be playing their third match in five days on Saturday. NSU defeated Southern Miss on Tuesday and will challenge league rival Southeastern Louisiana on Thursday.
Ashley Elrod and Caiti O'Connell average 2.86 and 2.83 kills per set to lead the Demons, respectively. Three other regulars in the NSU lineup average at least one kill a frame for a team that hits at a collective .128 clip.
Other key players for the Demons include setter Emily Johnson (4.36 assists/set) and libero Keelie Arneson (4.89 digs/set).
Following this weekend, UNO will return home to open up the home portion of the conference slate on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. against Oral Roberts. A visit from Central Arkansas follows on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. Both contests are slated for the Human Performance Center.
