NEW ORLEANS, La. –The New Orleans Privateers volleyball team (6-21, 0-13 Southland) will embark on the final road swing of the season starting Thursday with a trip to take on the Lamar Cardinals (3-21, 3-9) at McDonald Gym. First serve is for 7 p.m.
The Privateers were defeated by two in-state schools last week, suffering three-set losses to McNeese State and Nicholls. In both matches, New Orleans was without libero/setter,
Celeste Ramirez who was out due to an illness. Against Nicholls, the Privateers were held to the lowest kill total in a match this season (17).
This weekend ends a stretch where the Privateers have been on the road for eight of the last 10 matches. New Orleans is 2-8 on the road this season with road victories against Texas Southern and Alcorn State.
Cara Sander had six kills to help pace the attack against Nicholls, and leads the team on the season with 222 kills. Sander also had eight digs against the Colonels, her highest total in the last six matches since recording 14 digs against Southeastern on Oct. 11.
Lauren Levy has registered 18 digs over the last two matches after being held to a season-low two digs against Incarnate Word. Levy had seven digs against McNeese State and followed up with a team-high 11 digs against Nicholls. Levy has 12 matches of 10 or more digs this season.
The Cardinals enter looking to break a seven-match losing streak since their last victory against Incarnate Word on Oct. 11. Lamar has been swept in five of the seven matches on the losing skid. Lamar's most recent match was a 3-0 loss to conference leader Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday.
Currently, Lamar stands fifth in the league in hitting percentage and fourth in blocks. Cortney Moore leads the team with a .328 hitting percentage, a mark that is also good enough for fourth in the Southland. Moore's 3.27 kills per set rank ninth in the conference.
The Privateers will close the road slate on the season by traveling to Huntsville to take on Sam Houston State (16-9, 9-3) on Saturday. First serve is for 2 p.m. The Bearkats are on a four-match winning streak and are currently third in the Southland standings.
Deveney Wells-Gibson has been the Southland leader in kills for the majority of the season with 463 kills in 96 sets. Wells-Gibson racked up 19 kills in a win on Tuesday against Northwestern State. On the year, Wells-Gibson has been held under 10 kills in only two matches.
