Privateers Rally to Force Fourth Set, but Fall to Stephen F. Austin

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NEW ORLEANS, La. – The New Orleans Privateers volleyball team (11-11, 2-5) rallied to extend the match to a fourth set, but fell 3-1 (25-20, 25-19, 25-27, 25-19) to the Stephen F. Austin Lady Jacks (14-11, 6-3) on Saturday at the Human Performance Center.
 
The Privateers trimmed an early four-point deficit down to one, when they trailed just 14-13. Stephen F. Austin answered with a crucial three-point spurt to push their lead to 17-13. The Lady Jacks were able to draw away from there to finish off the match and pick up their sixth conference win.
 
New Orleans fell behind 4-1 and was trailing for most of the third set on the heels of dropping the first two games. The Privateers were able to keep within range, but were trailing 24-20 with Stephen F. Austin holding set and match point in their hands. However, the Privateers commenced a huge rally keyed by Rondolyn Bryant and Blessing Dunn to push the set to extra rallies. Dunn finished off the set comeback with a kill on the second set point opportunity.
 
Both teams started on level terms through the first 10 rallies when Stephen F. Austin scored on five of the next six rallies to take a 10-6 lead. The Lady Jacks stretched their lead to seven, but New Orleans commenced a mini run by scoring the next four rallies to force a timeout. Trailing 17-14 when the teams got back on the court, the Privateers could not draw closer than two points for the rest of the set.
 
In the second set, New Orleans and Stephen F. Austin once again evenly traded the first 10 rallies. The Lady Jacks slowly edged away from that point, going on an 8-3 run to take a five-point lead. The Privateers could not commence a run as the Lady Jacks' combination of middle hitters, Jacque Allen and Justice Walker racked up 15 kills collectively through the first two sets.
 
Dunn had 11 kills and also co-led the team in digs with nine. Takierra Boughton also had 11 kills while Bryant chipped in with eight kills. Cara Sander and Keke Irby posted seven and six kills respectively. Sara Hammoutene had 26 assists and six digs. Kaitlyn Grice had six total blocks (five solo, one assist) to go along with five kills.
 
Allen, Walker, and Makenzee Hanna led the Stephen F. Austin attack on the day. Allen had 15 kills while Walker and Hannah added 13 each. Lexus Cain had a match-high 22 digs while OJ Olson added 12 digs. The Lady Jacks hit .230 as a team for the match and had nine total blocks. Walker led the way in blocks with five total. Cain and McKenzie Brewer each had two service aces.
 
New Orleans will be back in action on Monday at 7 p.m. against Texas-Rio Grande Valley.
 
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