Middle Blockers Shine For Volleyball Against Northwestern State

NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans volleyball team responded from a slow start at home on Tuesday evening, taking the second set and overcoming an 18-9 deficit in the third to force a pair of set points, but could not take the crucial 2-1 advantage against Northwestern State in an eventual 3-1 loss (25-13, 19-25, 29-27, 25-19).

New Orleans (4-22, 1-12 SLC) averaged 2.75 blocks per set in the contest, a season-high, while the 11.0 total blocks marked the fourth time this season UNO has eclipsed double-digit blocks in a match and set the season-high for most in a home contest. Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Grice (Biology) led the team with six total blocks, one solo and five assisted, while senior middle blocker Keke Richards (Business Management) chipped in four, all assisted.

"It's a tough loss," head coach Millicent Van Norden explained. "We started slow, but we never gave up. Each set we battled back and if we could have handled the emotions earlier in each set the result would have been different. NSU did a great job of serving tough and sticking to their game plan."

The middle blocker tandem of Grice and Richards combined for 16 kills on a .375 hitting percentage with both student-athletes hitting over .333. Freshman outside hitter Jordan Yauch (Biological Science) paced the attack with 10 kills, followed by sophomore outside hitter Lane Hindenburg (Exercise Science and Physiology) with nine. Freshman setter Sarah Thomas (Accounting and Finance) quarterbacked the offense with 37 assists while contributing a team-best two service aces.

On defense, sophomore outside hitter Blessing Dunn (Business Management) anchored the Privateers with 12 digs, followed by freshman defensive specialist Andrea Nava (Education) with nine.

After falling in the opening set 25-13, the Privateers boasted their best frame of the match in the second recording only one error while holding Northwestern State (12-16, 7-6 SLC) to a .077 clip to knot up the score 1-1. The two sides kept it close for the bulk of the stanza, with neither side gaining a lead greater than two until a 3-0 run by UNO with kills from Hindenburg and Richards put the hosts ahead 16-13. Northwestern State ended the spree with a point, but another three-point spree by the royal blue & silver with back-to-back blocks from Hindenburg and Grice extended the separation to five at 19-14. UNO kept the lead above four for the remainder of the set to take the 25-19 victory.

Coming out of the intermission, Northwestern State took control of the third set creating a commanding 18-9 advantage late in the frame. UNO brought the deficit to four with a 5-0 highlighted by back-to-back kills from Hindenburg and a service ace from Thomas to make it 18-14. Northwestern State ended the run with a kill, and kept the separation between four and five until a final push from the Privateers knotted the score at 23-all. UNO forced a set point with back-to-back blocks, but Northwestern State scored the final three points to take the frame.

Facing elimination, UNO created an early lead over the visitors in the final set 6-2, but the Lady Demons quickly tied it up at 10-all. With the score tied again at 11-11, Northwestern State went on a crucial 8-1 run to take the lead for good.

The Privateers are back in action on Thursday, Nov. 3, when they travel to Nacogdoches, Texas to take on Stephen F. Austin. UNO returns to the Human Performance Center on Saturday, Nov. 12 when they host Southeastern Louisiana in the last match of the season at 2 p.m. Admission to all home volleyball matches is free.