NEW ORLEANS, La. – The New Orleans Privateers volleyball team (6-18, 0-10 Southland) lost two close sets to set the tone in a 3-0 loss (26-24, 25-22, 25-18) to the Abilene Christian Wildcats (3-19, 1-8) on Thursday at the Human Performance Center.
The Privateers got off to a fast start, scoring five of the first six rallies to open the match. The opening set turned into several mini spurts. Abilene Christian came right back from the 5-1 deficit to tie the set at 6-6. New Orleans then scored the next five points, but an eight-point run gave the Wildcats a 14-11 advantage.
New Orleans battled back from trailing by as many as five points at 21-16 though to push the set to extra rallies after a kill by
Cara Sander tied the set at 24-24. After Abilene Christian broke serve though, the first set ended on a service ace by Tucker Smith.
The Wildcats built a lead as large as seven in the second set when they led 18-11. New Orleans quickly trimmed the deficit back down to three, but the Wildcats were able to get to set point with five points to spare and a 24-19 lead. However, the Privateers tried to commence a furious rally, winning the next three points but the second set ultimately ended on a net violation.
In the third set, New Orleans had to battle back from a sizable early deficit. The Privateers had two straight rotational errors during the set and fell behind 15-9. However, New Orleans scored the next four points with a service ace capping off the spurt to cut the deficit to two. After a timeout called by the Wildcats, the set was opened up in a flash as Abilene Christian went on a 9-1 run to push to match point. The match was eventually finished on a kill by Jennifer Loerch.
Due to technical difficulties, full statistics will not be available until later this evening. Stay tuned to UNOPrivateers.com. The Privateers will next take on Incarnate Word on Saturday in the annual Dig Pink Game for breast cancer awareness. First serve will be set for 2 p.m.
