BOX SCORE (XML) | BOX SCORE (PDF)
HOUSTON, Texas – The New Orleans Privateers (8-6, 0-1) could not overcome early runs in the first two sets and were defeated 3-1 (25-18, 25-22, 15-25, 25-16) by the Houston Baptist Huskies (8-7, 1-0) on Thursday evening at Sharp Gym.
The Privateers started on level terms in the fourth set. A tandem block tied up the score at 7-7, but Houston Baptist delivered a massive run, scoring 15 of the next 18 rallies in their favor. The Huskies had three kills from Bailey Banks and three blocks in what would be the match deciding stretch.
Houston Baptist started out with three aces in the first five rallies and raced out to a 9-1 lead. The Privateers chipped that early lead down to four after an attack error on the Huskies' side brought the score to 12-8. Houston Baptist responded with five straight points, and pushed the lead to 24-12.
New Orleans made the Huskies work for the final point of the opening set, sticking the Huskies in a rotation with six consecutive points.
Samantha Uline had two kills in that stretch, but after a timeout called by Houston Baptist, they earned a kill to finish off the first set.
The Huskies got off to a similar start in the second set, running to a 7-3 lead. However, the Privateers traded rallies while racking up several blocks against the Houston Baptist attack. New Orleans got the lead cut to one on two different occasions, but the Huskies were able to hold on with the second set ending on a Privateers blocking error.
After the halftime break, New Orleans came out firing on offense, building an early 9-4 lead behind a balanced attack.
Celeste Ramirez helped the Privateers push their lead to as much as 11 with five service aces during a 7-0 run. New Orleans was able to see out the rest of the set to force a fourth set.
Ramirez had a full stat line with five kills on 11 attempts, seven aces, 24 assists, and nine digs.
Kaitlyn Grice led the team in kills with eight and registered a .389 attack percentage.
Blessing Dunn added seven kills and a team-best 12 digs while
Lauren Levy also recorded double digits in digs, racking up 11. Uline had six kills, six digs, and five block assists.
Keke Irby was also in on five blocks while recording five kills.
Houston Baptist got 13 kills from Banks along with two blocks. Jessica Wooten landed just shy of a double-double with nine kills and 13 digs. Allison Doepringhaus registered seven kills and had four blocks (one solo, three assist). The Huskies out-hit the Privateers, recording a .226 attack percentage to an .090 clip for New Orleans.
New Orleans will finish off their opening conference weekend at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday. The match is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
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.
Â
