Privateers Take First Set in Extra Rallies, Sweep Through South Carolina State

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ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The New Orleans Privateers volleyball team (4-4) won the opening set in extra rallies on their way to a 3-0 victory (27-25, 25-12, 25-22) win over the South Carolina State Bulldogs (0-5) on Friday afternoon at the Justice Center.
 
A hard fought battle for large parts of the match saw a tight score line in the third and final set of the match. The Bulldogs steadily chipped away at the Privateers lead, which was as large as seven at one point.
 
New Orleans had set point on their hands, leading 24-19 but the Bulldogs had one more push that was ultimately denied when Blessing Dunn registered a kill to seal the win. The Privateers moved to 1-1 on the tournament.
 
The Privateers were able to fend off two tries at set point for South Carolina State. Trailing 24-22, New Orleans was the beneficiary of an attack error then had one of five blocks on the match to send the opening set to extra rallies. The Privateers ended the set on another block to go ahead in the match 1-0.
 
New Orleans raced out to a 7-2 lead in set two which forced a South Carolina State timeout. The Bulldogs came back to trim the Privateers lead to two, but New Orleans responded with a massive run. After Cara Sander went on serve, New Orleans scored eight straight points to put the second set out of reach.
 
Rondolyn Bryant had five kills in 11 attacks for the Privateers. Sander led the way in kills with eight while Takierra Boughton added six. Dunn and Lane Hindenburg added four kills each. Celeste Ramirez had 27 assists, six digs, and kills in both of her attempts while also adding two aces. Lauren Levy added a team-best 12 digs while Sander followed closely behind with 10. The Privateers defense allowed South Carolina State to hit just .011 for the match.
 
The Bulldogs' attack was paced by Marissa Lawrence who recorded 10 kills. Brianna Dafney added six kills while Ashante Finnie posted four. South Carolina State had eight blocks as a team. Kiana Stone was in on four of those blocks (all assisted). Melanie Williams led the way in digs with 10.
 
The Privateers will finish the weekend with two matches on Saturday against Alabama A&M (8 AM) and Citadel (3:30 PM).
 
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