Privateers Defeated by Southern Miss

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HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The New Orleans Privateers volleyball team (6-5) provided a stern test for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (12-1), but ultimately fell 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-21) on Tuesday evening at the Reed Green Coliseum.
 
Neither team could gain separation throughout most of the first set. The Privateers were mostly battling a deficit that loomed between two and four points. After a kill by New Orleans narrowed the deficit to 19-16, Southern Miss closed out the set winning six straight points. The last two points of the opening set were earned on blocks.
 
The second set saw both sides trade four-point runs and the set played evenly until the score read 14-14. That's when the Golden Eagles scored four straight points to gain the separation they needed. Blessing Dunn started the second set and made a huge offensive impact, notching seven kills in the set on 11 attempts. Both teams hit over .300 for the set, which ended on a service error.
 
New Orleans used both of their timeouts early in the third set after falling into a 12-4 hole. New Orleans used a quick strike offense coupled with Southern Miss errors to trim the deficit down to as little as one. Trailing 20-18, the Privateers were blocked at the net twice in a three-rally stretch that ultimately helped finish the match for the home side.
 
Dunn wound up with 11 kills between the second and third set while hitting .364. Samantha Uline added eight kills, seven digs, and was in on two blocks. Keke Irby, Kaitlyn Grice, and Takierra Boughton each added four kills to the attack. Celeste Ramirez had 34 assists, nine digs, and added two kills in four attempts. Lauren Levy also had nine digs to co-lead the team. The Privateers did not record a service ace for the first time this season in the loss.
 
For Southern Miss, Chanel Joyce and Kylie Grandy co-led the attack with 11 kills each. Grandy's 11^th kill was the final point of the match. Mary Pursell had a match-high 19 digs while Shelby Russell had three of the team's four aces. It was Russell's serve that was partially responsible for an 8-0 Southern Miss run that broke a 4-4 tie in the third set. Alexis Coombs was in on eight blocks on the night (one solo, seven assist).
 
The Privateers return home to face Tennessee State and Grambling. The full match schedule can be found here.
 
To keep up with the latest New Orleans volleyball news, follow the team on Twitter @UNOPrivateers and @Privateers_VB or by liking New Orleans Privateers on Facebook.