Volleyball On The Road At Nicholls On Saturday

NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans volleyball team is on the road this weekend, taking on Southland Conference foe Nicholls on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 1 p.m.

The last time the two sides played against each other, Nicholls escaped the Human Performance Center with a 3-2 victory in a competitive match. UNO set season-highs in kills (69), assists (65) and service aces (14) while freshman outside hitter Jordan Yauch (Biological Science) boasted a career-high 21 kills in the match with freshman setter Sarah Thomas (Accounting and Finance) recording 61 assists.

"Nicholls is playing great volleyball right now," head coach Millicent Van Norden explained. "Our goal tomorrow is to do the little things right and to see the court and make smart decisions. We are capable of playing at a higher level and over the last few weeks we have seen bright spots from different people on the team. We are due for things to come together all at once tomorrow."

New Orleans (4-20, 1-10 SLC) continues a week on the road after dropping a 3-0 decision at McNeese State. The Privateers average 11.56 kills on a .153 hitting percentage with 13.61 digs, 10.90 assists, 1.60 blocks and a Southland Conference-best 1.60 service aces.

Individually, Thomas orchestrates the offense with 9.62 assists per set, the third-highest average in the league, sending the bulk of her sets to Yauch, sophomore outside hitter Blessing Dunn (Business Management) and freshman Brianna Vega (Biological Science) who post 2.67, 2.21 and 2.15 kills respectively. UNO have a pair ranked in the SLC in hitting percentage, with senior middle blocker Keke Richards (Business Management) ranking sixth with a .289 hitting percentage and sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Grice (Biology) sitting 10^th with a .285 clip.

On defense, sophomore defensive specialist Samantha Uline (Exercise Physiology) anchors the Privateers with 3.84 digs, seventh-highest average in the conference, followed by Dunn with 2.95. Grice leads the team at the net with 0.83 blocks.

Nicholls (7-20, 2-9 SLC) enters the match after a 3-2 victory over Southeastern Louisiana at home, their third-straight home contest. The Colonels average 10.96 kills on a .178 hitting percentage with 15.78 digs, 10.16 assists, 1.49 blocks and 1.34 service aces.

Kali Schwarts paces Nicholls' offense with 2.29 kills per set, followed by Kaci Eaton with 2.20. Nicholls uses three setters, led by Jade Piper with 5.15 assists. Defensively, Alexa Perra averages a team-best 4.23 digs per set, sixth-best in the conference, while Emily Weimer averages 0.69 blocks per set.

The Privateers are back in action on Tuesday, Nov. 1, when UNO hosts Northwestern State with first serve slated for 7 p.m. Admission to all home volleyball matches is free.