Privateers Prepare For Thursday Non-Conference Tilt With Southern

SOUTHERN AT NEW ORLEANS
THURSDAY- 7 PM
HUMAN PERFORMANCE CENTER | NEW ORLEANS, LA.

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FIRST SERVE
The New Orleans Privateers (9-9, 1-3 Southland) enter a non-conference bout to start a five-match home stand when they take on the Southern Jaguars (2-13, 2-1 SWAC) on Thursday at the Human Performance Center. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
The Privateers earned their first conference win as a member of the Southland on Tuesday, defeating Nicholls 3-1. After dropping the first set, New Orleans came back with two resounding set victories before taking the fourth set 25-20. The Privateers set a season-high for team digs with 79 in the win and two players (Blessing Dunn and Lauren Levy) went over 20 digs for the match. Dunn set new career marks in kills (16) and digs (22).
 
Levy's 24 digs were the highest she has posted in a match since Sept. 13, 2013 when she had 25 digs in a four-set win against Savannah State. After Tuesday's performance, Levy has gone over 1,100 career digs. Levy is averaging 3.79 digs per set over her last 12 matches.
 
Samantha Uline tied career highs in kills (12) and digs (13) on Tuesday. Uline is now at 100 kills on the season. Tuesday marked Uline's third double-double of the season. Uline's .370 attack percentage against Nicholls was her second-highest clip with at least 10 attempts.
 
QUICK HITS
-New Orleans has 38 wins in 45 matches against Southern, marking the second-highest win total against an opponent.
-Takierra Boughton went for double digit kills in a match for the third time this season, racking up 10 against Nicholls.
-Kaitlyn Grice added three more blocks to her season total on Tuesday. Grice has registered a block in all but one match in 2015.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Southern dropped their first 12 matches of the season, but has since won two of three against conference competition. The Jaguars defeated Grambling 3-2 on Sept. 21 and topped Texas Southern 3-1 in their last outing on Oct. 3.
 
Venessa Jacobs is in her third season at the helm. Jacobs has been with the program since 2009. In her first year as head coach, the Jaguars won eight games. Last season, she bolstered that total to 12 wins. Jacobs took Southern to the SWAC championship in 2014 as a 3-seed in the West.
 
The Jaguars have two players who have earned SWAC Player of the Week honors: Melodie Malone (Offense-Sept. 23) and Diamond Williams (Defense-Sept. 10). Williams and Leila Lealaimatafao were All-Conference selections in 2014. Lealaimatafao currently leads the team in blocks and hitting percentage and is second in kills.
 
Southern has gone 0-4 against the Southland this season. The Jaguars have lost three-set decisions to Lamar, Incarnate Word, and Nicholls. Southern took Southeastern to five sets at home on Sept. 15, but fell 15-7 in the final set.
 
To keep up with the latest New Orleans volleyball news, follow the team on Twitter @UNOPrivateers and @Privateers_VB or by liking New Orleans Privateers on Facebook.