BOX SCORE (XML) | BOX SCORE (PDF)LAKE CHARLES, La. – The New Orleans Privateers (18-14, 7-8) could not overcome 22 attack errors and 12 service errors as they fell 3-1 (25-19, 11-25, 25-12, 25-18) to the McNeese State Cowgirls (13-17, 8-7) on Tuesday at Memorial Gym.
McNeese State was able to build a 12-5 lead in the fourth set as they looked to close out the match, leading 2-1 in sets. After
Sara Hammoutene entered and set up a kill to cut the Privateers lead to one, the Cowgirls rattled off six straight points before a service error broke the rotation.
The Privateers fell behind by as many as 11 points in the final set as the Cowgirls had 27 kills to just three errors over the final two sets of the match. New Orleans was limited to just a .171 attack percentage for the match.
The Privateers faced an early three-point hole, trailing 7-4. After scoring back-to-back points to cut the deficit to one, New Orleans could never pull level as McNeese State steadily drew away with a varied attack. The Privateers also had six attack errors and two service errors in the set while hitting just .119 for the opener.
The second set was a much different story. New Orleans raced out to an early 6-1 lead as
Kaitlyn Grice's serve put the Cowgirls out of system first time and the Privateers continued to keep the pressure up with an efficient attack. New Orleans led by as many as 14 points, which wound up being the final margin of the set. The Privateers hit .433 (15 kills, two errors, 30 attempts) to tie the match heading into the half.
After a level start to the third set that saw both teams split the first 12 rallies evenly, the Cowgirls scored five of the next seven points to lead 11-7. McNeese State continued to pull away behind a .524 hitting percentage with 12 kills and just one error in 21 attempts.
Blessing Dunn led the team in kills with 13 and in digs with 17.
Kaitlyn Grice added 11 kills and
Keke Irby had nine.
Rondolyn Bryant had eight kills and was in on three blocks.
Celeste Ramirez had 40 assists and led the team in aces with four.
Lauren Levy (11), Ramirez, and
Shaylene Reimer (10 each) also landed in double figures in digs.
McNeese State was led by Rebecca Korenek who had 12 kills and a .407 attack percentage. Amber Fryer added nine kills and Malina Sanchez posted eight. Kelly Graham had 36 assists and six digs. Bridget Justis led all Cowgirls with 16 digs while Adison Giambrone followed closely with 15.
The Privateers are back home to close out their conference slate against Central Arkansas. First serve is for 12 p.m. on Saturday.
To keep up with the latest New Orleans volleyball news, follow the team on Twitter
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