Beach Volleyball To Play In Tiger Beach Challenge Over Weekend

NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans beach volleyball team will return to action on Saturday, March 12, when the Privateers open play in the Tiger Beach Challenge with matches against FIU, ULM and Georgia State at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively, at Mango's Beach Volleyball Club in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

In addition to a Sunday showdown with Stetson – a match scheduled to start at 11 a.m. – UNO a tough weekend ahead of itself as the Hatters are No. 8, FIU is No. 9 and Georgia State is No. 10 in the most recent AVCA Collegiate Beach Poll. It also marks the second time in as many weekends that New Orleans will face FIU as the two teams opened the 2016 season against each other in a match the Panthers won, 5-0. The Privateers will have some additional firepower in the lineup this time around, however, as freshman Kaitlin Grice will join the team for the trip to Baton Rouge.

"We're looking forward to the opportunity to play FIU again," UNO head coach Millicent Van Norden said. "I think the girls were pretty stressed out about the season opener last week. We learned a lot throughout every pair in that match and I'm hopeful that repeating the same opponent will give us a competitive edge on what to expect. The results should be a lot better.

"Adding Kaitlin to the roster will give us the size we need to compete against some of these higher ranked teams. She's come in and out of our beach training and she's got strong all-around skills. She's always wanted to play and has asked about it, but we wanted to give her time to prepare for the national tryouts. Now that that is over, she'll be a big addition with Celeste because she can put up a huge block up at the net."

New Orleans enters the weekend looking for its first win of the season after going 0-3 in the FIU Fort Lauderdale Beach Invitational. In addition to the loss to host FIU, the Privateers dropped a 4-1 decision to Jacksonville University and fell 5-0 to LSU.

The highlight of the event came in No. 4 play against JU where junior Brooklyn Frank and freshman Samantha Uline sandwiched wins of 23-21 and 15-6 around a 21-13, set-two loss to defeat the Dolphins' Ashlyne Miller and Olga Nushtayeva. UNO also had a second pairs competition go into a third set and potential win as rookie Blessing Dunn and senior Lauren Levy rallied from a 21-9 opening-set loss to Kelly Koop and Katie Krawczyk on Court 3 to give the duo all they could handle in a narrow 22-20 set-two defeat.

"We were able to cater our practices to each pair and what they needed specifically, instead of just working on basic skills," Van Norden said. "We talked a lot about extending rallies. We played a team like LSU and with their speed they were able to send it back to our end to keep the point going. This week's practice focus was to extend rallies. Some things may score in our practices against our own team, but when you're playing the best they have the speed and the blocking up at the net to make things a lot different. We worked really hard to simulate those things – the speed they had on defense and putting more blockers up at the net – and I think that will give them an advantage going into the weekend."

FIU heads to Baton Rouge 2-1 after sandwiching 5-0 wins over UNO and Jacksonville around a 3-2 loss to LSU. Georgia State is 4-1 after opening the season with a 4-1 win over North Florida and a 5-0 win against Webber International to go with a 3-2 loss to FAU during the FAU Invitational last weekend in Boca Raton, Florida and posting a 5-0 home victory over Mercer on Wednesday night in Atlanta.

ULM has yet to take the dunes so far this season while Stetson is a perfect 6-0 on the young 2016 campaign. The Hatters swept the field last weekend at the Stetson Spring Break Invitational in DeLand, Florida, where they rolled past Missouri Baptist, Tulane and Spring Hill on Friday before downing UNC-Wilmington, Eckerd and College of Charleston on Saturday. Five of those wins came in straight sets while the Hatters' win over Tulane came by a score of 4-1

"It's similar to how the schedule was last weekend," Van Norden added. "Being in this region, we'll play most of the higher-ranked teams. That will only make us better and stronger. Ultimately, a national ranking is what we'd like to be playing for as we continue to build our program. Playing against the best is really the only way to get there."

Following the weekend trip to Baton Rouge, New Orleans will return to the Crescent City and will take part in the Pelican Classic from March 18-19 at White Sands Volleyball Courts in Metairie. In that tournament, the Privateers will face Spring Hill and LSU on Friday before taking on Missouri Baptist and host Tulane on Saturday.