Privateers Tangle With Lamar to Start Penultimate Conference Weekend

LAMAR AT NEW ORLEANS
THURSDAY, NOV. 5 | 7 P.M.
HUMAN PERFORMANCE CENTER | NEW ORLEANS, LA.

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FIRST SERVE
The New Orleans Privateers volleyball team (16-13, 5-7 Southland) puts their four-match winning streak on the line against the Lamar Cardinals (13-13, 3-9) on Thursday at the Human Performance Center. The match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
 
The Privateers got out to a fast start in a 3-1 win at Southeastern on Tuesday. New Orleans took each of the first two sets, building sizable early leads in both sets. After dropping the third set, the Privateers built a 16-6 on their way to winning the fourth and final set. The Privateers recorded their highest set attack percentage of the match in the fourth set (.250).
 
Kaitlyn Grice was in on six of the team's seven blocks on Tuesday. It's the fifth time this season, Grice has recorded at least five blocks in a match. Her season-best is seven blocks achieved back on Aug. 29 against Presbyterian. Grice has 83 total blocks on the season. The last Privateer to record at least 100 blocks in a season was Kaley Hubbard (2009-110 blocks).
 
Currently, the Privateers are in a three-way tie for the sixth spot in the Southland tournament with four conference games remaining (three at home). New Orleans is 10-3 at home, which puts them two away from tying the single season record for home wins in a season. The 2002 Privateers won 12 home matches.
 
QUICK HITS
-Grice hit .600 against Southeastern, her highest attack percentage with at least 20 attempts. Grice moved up to sixth in the conference in hitting percentage (.315).
-The Privateers have the third longest current winning streak in the Southland behind Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Central Arkansas.
-Celeste Ramirez recorded her team-leading seventh double-double against Southeastern on Tuesday.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Lamar enters having lost six straight after a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday. The Cardinals won the third set after scoring just 20 points in the first and second set combined (14 in Set 1, 6 in Set 2). On the night, the Cardinals hit just .104 to Stephen F. Austin's .294. The Ladyjacks also had 17 more kills than Lamar.
 
Two of the top five players in attack percentage in the Southland are on Lamar's roster. Cortney Moore sits fourth in the conference with a .331 hitting percentage while Chelsea Grant is third with an attack percentage of .338. Grant also has 124 total blocks and is second in the Southland in blocks per set (1.27).
 
Thursday marks the fourth of a five-game road trip for Lamar. The Cardinals have lost the first three to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Houston Baptist, and Stephen F. Austin. On the year, Lamar has one road win in nine tries (at Louisiana Tech on Sept. 12). The Cardinals are 3-2 in neutral site matches.
 
This is the 38^th time the Privateers and Cardinals have played each other. Just five of the prior 37 meetings have taken place in New Orleans. The last time the two teams met in the Big Easy was in 2003. New Orleans is 3-2 at home all-time against Lamar.
 
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