Privateers Fall in Straight Sets to Florida Gulf Coast

BOX SCORE

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The New Orleans Privateers volleyball team (0-1) kept close tabs on the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (1-0) for large chunks of the match, but ultimately fell 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-16) in the season opener and the first match of the FGCU Hilton Garden Classic at Alico Arena.
 
The Privateers kept it close early in the first set, but fell on the short side of a 6-1 mini run by Florida Gulf Coast to extend their first set lead to 12-6. The Privateers got to within four on multiple occasions, but could not draw closer. The Eagles won four of the last five rallies to close out the opening set at 25-16.
 
The second set saw the Privateers fly to an early 5-1 advantage. Kaitlyn Grice was in on back-to-back blocks at the net to key the early spurt. The Eagles settled in though and commenced a massive 12-1 run to take a seven-point lead. New Orleans clawed back though on a balanced attack which was spearheaded by Rondolyn Bryant. However, the Privateers got only as close as within three of the lead for the rest of the set.
 
Neither team could gain a clear advantage early in the third set. The Privateers battled their way to a 14-11 lead before the final blow was delivered by Florida Gulf Coast. Back-to-back service aces and a block helped jolt the Eagles to a two-point lead and forced a Privateers timeout. The Eagles continued their run as they closed the match scoring 14 of the final 16 points. Florida Gulf Coast got solid contributions from their service game which turned in 10 aces.
 
Bryant led the Privateers with eight kills in 16 attempts. Cara Sander and Takierra Boughton chipped in with seven and six kills respectively. Freshman libero, Shaylene Reimer led the team in digs with 14 and also recorded two aces. Celeste Ramirez also reached double figures in digs with 10. Grice had four total blocks in her first collegiate match.
 
The Eagles hit .276 as a team which was aided by a .455 attack percentage in the opening set. Amanda Carroll and Eleonora Kazarian both reached double digits in kills with 11 and 10 respectively. Vanessa Benke notched half of the team's aces, registering five on the night. Benke also contributed defensively with a match-high 15 digs.
 
The Privateers will close their first weekend of the season with two matches on Saturday. The day starts with an 8:30 a.m. bout against Presbyterian. The final match of the weekend will be against Fordham at 2:30 p.m.
 
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