Privateers Drop Final Conference Match of Season to Central Arkansas

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NEW ORLEANS, La. – The New Orleans Privateers (18-15, 7-9) came out with a solid third set after a slow start, but ultimately fell 3-0 (25-10, 25-15, 25-23) to the Central Arkansas Sugar Bears (16-12, 12-4) on Saturday at the Human Performance Center.
 
New Orleans was able to hang in with the Sugar Bears, taking the lead at several different points. The Sugar Bears were trailing 15-13 when they called their first timeout. After the stoppage, Central Arkansas scored four straight to gain a 17-15 lead. The Privateers used a timeout to their advantage as they clawed back to a 20-19 lead.
 
The Sugar Bears came back with a mini surge to have set point on their hands at 24-21. New Orleans was able to earn back-to-back points on a kill from Takierra Boughton followed by a service ace from Kaitlyn Grice to cut the deficit to one, but Heather Schnars ended matters with her 18^th kill of the match.
 
Central Arkansas got out to a 9-2 lead behind a strong attack that was led in the opening stages by a balanced offense. The Privateers could never recover from the start as Central Arkansas hit .450 for the first set (11 kills, 2 errors, 20 attempts).
 
The Privateers again found themselves in an early hole, trailing 10-3. Three kills by Schnars were part of the early run. The Privateers scored three straight points to cut the Central Arkansas lead to 16-10 later in the set, but could not draw any closer. The Sugar Bears responded with a four-point spurt to help close out the set.
 
Boughton led the Privateers with eight kills in 12 attempts and had a block assist. Blessing Dunn had five kills and led the team with three service aces. Cara Sander had four kills and Rondolyn Bryant added three. Grice was in on both of the team's blocks (one solo, one assist). New Orleans had their highest attack percentage in the third set (.265).
 
Central Arkansas was led by Schnars who had 18 kills and hit .708. Schnars also led the team in aces (four) and digs (11). Samantha Anderson had nine kills and three block assists. Nicole Peters and Rachel Sharp each added five kills as Central Arkansas hit .461 for the match. The Sugar Bears committed just six errors in 76 attempts.
 
New Orleans will close out the regular season with Senior Night against Jackson State on Monday. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.  at the Human Performance Center.

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