BOX SCORE (PDF)
JACKSON, Mississippi – The University of New Orleans volleyball played its final road match of the 2016 season on Tuesday evening, defeating host Jackson State 3-0 (35-21, 35-15, 25-23).
New Orleans (5-24) recorded nine service aces as a team, led by freshman defensive specialist
Andrea Nava (Education) with four and outside hitter
Jordan Yauch (Biological Science) with three. Nava also led UNO on defense with 13 digs, while Yauch finished second on the team in kills with 10.
"Overall the team played well," head coach
Millicent Van Norden explained. "We had stable ball control which helped us get the win."
Sophomore
Kaitlyn Grice (Biology) led the Privateers on offense with 12 kills on a .579 hitting percentage while leading the Privateers in blocks with five. Freshman setter
Sarah Thomas (Accounting and Finance) orchestrated the attack for UNO with 36 assists.
On defense, sophomore outside hitter
Blessing Dunn (Business Management) also finished with double-digit digs with 11, while Yauch and senior middle blocker
Keke Richards (Business Management) both finished with two blocks.
New Orleans led Jackson State (6-22) in every statistical category, ending the contest with 37 kills off a .229 hitting percentage with 37 assists, 42 digs, nine blocks and nine service aces compared to 29 kills on a .172 hitting percentage with 29 assists, 31 digs, eight blocks and four service aces.
The Privateers came out strong in the opening set, forcing an early Jackson State timeout after a 6-0 run with a pair of service aces from Nava put the visitors ahead 7-2. Following the timeout, JSU fired off four-consecutive points, but New Orleans managed to end the rally with a point and held onto the lead for the remainder of the set. Jackson State knotted up the score at 13-all after a 3-0 run, but an equal response by the Privateers recreated the three-point lead at 16-13. UNO had to withstand one final rally, another 3-0 spree to bring it to within one at 20-19, before back-to-back points by the visitors made it 22-19.
New Orleans hit a match-best .385 with 14 kills, while holding the hosts to a -0.40 clip in the second set to go up 2-0 overall. In similar fashion to the opening set, UNO created an early advantage, this time a 7-3 lead after going on a 5-0 run after trailing for the first time of the night at 2-3. Leading 17-15, New Orleans ended the set with eight-consecutive points to go into the intermission one game away from the victory.
In the final set, UNO led the entire frame but faced a plethora of Jackson State rallies that threatened the lead. The hosts managed to tie the score late, using a 5-2 run to make it 21-all. UNO responded with back-to-back points, but two-straight from the Tigers yet again knotted up the score at 23-23. Yauch forced match point for the visitors, with Richard ending the match on the following play.
UNO concludes the 2016 campaign on Saturday, Nov. 12, when the Privateers host Southeastern Louisiana on senior night. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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