Volleyball Begins Three-Match Homestand Tuesday Against Nicholls

NEW ORLEANS – After playing three-consecutive matches on the road, the University of New Orleans volleyball team opens a week of three home matches on Tuesday, Oct. 18 when Nicholls comes to the Human Performance Center for a 7 p.m. match.

Last season the Privateers ended a five-match losing streak against Nicholls with a 3-1 victory on Oct. 6, completing the season sweep with a 3-1 victory on Oct. 31 to move UNO ahead in the all-time series 34-29. In the two contests, sophomore outside hitter Blessing Dunn (Business Management) boasted 27 kills in seven sets with a career-best 22 digs in her first contest against the Colonels.

"We play against Nicholls twice a year so we are familiar with one another," head coach Millicent Van Norden explained. "We are going to have to play the pressure situations with higher quality contacts. We have to be aggressive but also make smart decisions on the court. Our service game needs to be at its best tomorrow."

New Orleans (4-16, 1-6 SLC) concluded its road trip with a pair of losses to Northwestern State and Central Arkansas. The Privateers average 11.33 kills on a .149 hitting percentage with 10.67 assists 13.32 digs, 1.61 blocks and a Southland Conference-best 1.50 service aces.

Freshman setter Sarah Thomas (Accounting & Finance) orchestrates the attack with 9.31 assists per set, ranked 23^rd  in the nation among freshman and third overall in the conference, with outside hitters Jordan Yauch (Biological Science), Dunn and Brianna Vega (Biological Science) getting the bulk of the passes with kill per set averages of 2.62, 2.44 and 2.16 respectively. Senior middle blocker Keke Richards (Business Management) hits a team-best .299, the fourth-highest hitting percentage in the league, while junior outside hitter Cara Sanders (Marketing) ranks fourth in the SLC with 0.32 service aces per set.

On defense, sophomore defensive specialist Samantha Uline (Exercise Physiology) anchors the royal blue and silver with 3.90 digs per set, seventh-highest average in the Southland Conference, with Dunn and Yauch chipping in 2.94 and 2.01. At the net, junior middle blocker Kaitlyn Grice (Biology) averages a team-best 0.88 blocks per set followed by fellow junior middle blocker Rondolyn Bryant (Exercise Physiology) with 0.64.

Nicholls (5-18, 0-7 SLC) dropped a pair of road matches last week at Southeastern Louisiana and McNeese. The Colonels average 10.94 kills on a .167 hitting percentage with 10.21 assists, 16.02 digs, 1.51 blocks and 1.35 service aces.

Kali Schwartz paces Nicholls' attack with 2.21 kills per set, while Emily Weimer boasts the highest hitting percentage in the SLC with a .330 clip. Jade Piper leads a trio of Colonels who average over 3.0 assists per set with 5.13 and Ludja Barac averages the second-best service ace per set mark in the league at 0.36. Defensively, Alexa Perry averages 4.16 digs per set, sixth-best in the conference.

"This week of home matches comes at a crucial time for us," Van Norden concluded. "Our goal is to make the conference tournament, and with nine conference matches remaining there is still a chance for us. Last season we played well at home and I'm hopeful that three-consecutive matches on our home court will give us the spark we need to make a push towards the postseason."

The Privateers' homestand continues on Thursday, Oct. 20 when Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, the reigning Southland Conference champions, venture to the HPC with first serve slated for 7 p.m.