Beach Volleyball Falls vs Tough Foes In Day 1 Of Tiger Challenge

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana – When building the foundation for a Division I program, the ones laying the initial bricks can sometimes undergo tough times. Those times can be even more difficult when young teams take on national powers.

That was the case for the University of New Orleans beach volleyball team on Friday at the Tiger Beach Challenge as the young Privateers dropped 5-0 decisions to FIU, ULM and Georgia State at Mango's Beach Volleyball Club. While the losses seem lopsided on the surface, context must be added to the conversation as UNO is just in its second season on the dunes while FIU and Georgia State entered the weekend with respective national rankings on No. 9 and No. 10 while ULM is a team that appeared in the AVCA National Championship just two seasons ago.

Despite the difference in collegiate experience, the Privateers fought gallantly throughout the day with the highlight coming in the nightcap where Camila Lau and Milica Zmiric forcing a winner-take all third set in No. 5 play against  Georgia State's Chloe Cook and Allie Eslon. Lau and Zmiric fell three point shy in the opener, 21-18, before storming back to take the second set 21-16. In the final frame, however, the GSU tandem came away with big points when they needed them to claim a 15-10 victory and complete the sweep for the Panthers.

"For them to take the match that far against a ranked opponent is a sign of true progress," UNO head coach Millicent Van Norden said of Lau and Zmiric. "They had opportunities to win throughout, but weren't able to put together enough consecutive plays to stay ahead in the match. In the deciding set, being offensive was a critical component that we weren't able to maintain at a high level of efficiency. I believe this was a break-through match for them and there are many more positive things to come in the near future.

"Each pair is starting to figure out their own identity and putting together some decent performances, but not for long enough runs. We are continually challenging each player to work harder during rallies if they want the big payoff – winning.  I believe they've accepted the challenge and I'm looking forward to watching them continue to get better each outing."

Including a sixth pairs exhibition in each of the three matches on Saturday, all but Lau and Zmiric's effort against Georgia State was a straight-sets decision. While Shaylene Reimer and Cara Sander played all three sets in the No. 1 position, the Privateers shuffled the deck in the remaining pairs, but to no avail.

The weekend marked the beach debut of freshman Kaitlin Grice, who starred in the indoor game during the fall semester and missed the first weekend of beach play while participating in the U.S. Women's National Collegiate Team tryouts. Grice teamed with senior Celeste Ramirez at the No. 2 spot against FIU, and at No. 3 against both ULM and Georgia State, and the duo continued to build a solid partnership as the day progressed.

"Just as I expected, with Kaitlyn being a part of the team she could be a force at the net," Van Norden added. "With only one week of exclusive beach practice she's off to a great start. She and Celeste just need a little more experience and I think they will be very successful.

"We started the day stronger than last week against FIU. We have to learn how to maintain a high level of play mentally for longer periods of time. We are still making too many unforced errors at critical moments in the match. I'm encouraging the team to continue to give max effort and not be so results oriented. We've got some maturing to do across the board, but are still very engaged in learning what it'll take to get better."

Things will not get any easier for the Privateers on Saturday as UNO closes out play in the Tiger Challenge against No. 8 Stetson at 11 a.m. 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.
 
No. 9 FIU PANTHERS (2-2) DEFEAT NEW ORLEANS PRIVATEERS (0-4): 5-0
No. 1: Aren Crupp / Martyna Gluchowicz (FIU) def. Shaylene Reimer / Cara Sander (UNO) – 21-12, 21-11
No. 2: Kari Peterson / Anabela Sataric (FIU) def. Kaitlin Grice / Celeste Ramirez (UNO) – 21-9, 21-12
No. 3: Estefanie Bethancourt / Tina Toghiyani (FIU) def. Brooklyn Frank / Samathan Uline (UNO) – 21-12, 21-15
No. 4: Savannah Davis / Natalia Giron (FIU) def. Blessing Dunn / Lauren Levy (UNO) – 21-14, 21-14
No. 5: Katie Friesen / Gloria Levorin (FIU) def. Camila Lau / Milica Zmiric (UNO) – 21-13, 21-12
Exhibition: Morgan Crawley / Ane Maria Taylor (FIU) def. Madison Miller / Courtney Roblez (UNO) – 21-15, 21-10
 
ULM WARHAWKS (1-1) DEFEAT NEW ORLEANS PRIVATEERS (0-5): 5-0
No. 1: Hope Pawlik / Taylor Zaeske (ULM) def. Shaylene Reimer / Cara Sander  (UNO) – 21-16, 21-16
No. 2: Kori Simpson / Hadley Swartz (ULM) def. Brooklyn Frank / Samatha Uline (UNO) – 21-17, 21-16
No. 3: Claire Crossfield / Kaitlyn Shearer (ULM) def. Kaitlin Grice / Celeste Ramirez (UNO) – 21-12, 21-9
No. 4: Delaney Drive / Catherine Griffith (ULM) def. Blessing Dunn / Lauren Levy (UNO) – 21-15, 21-11
No. 5: Bayleigh Hoffman / Tara Jenkins (ULM) def. Camila Lau / Milica Zmiric (UNO) – 21-15, 21-14
Exhibition: Becca Brown / Jennifer McClemdon (ULM) def. Madison Miller / Courtney Roblez (UNO) – 21-17, 21-13
 
No. 10 GEORGIA STATE PANTHERS (6-1) DEFEAT NEW ORLEANS PRIVATEERS (0-6): 5-0
No. 1: Nina Interwies / Katelyn Rawls (GSU) def. Shaylene Reimer / Cara Sander  (UNO) – 21-7, 21-14
No. 2: Jansen Button / Sara Olivova (GSU) def. Brooklyn Frank / Samatha Uline (UNO) – 21-6, 21-7
No. 3: Milani Pickering / Delaney Rohan (GSU) def. Kaitlin Grice / Celeste Ramirez (UNO) – 21-15, 21-12
No. 4: Alexis Elmurr / Broke Weiner (GSU) def. Blessing Dunn / Lauren Levy (UNO) – 21-5, 21-9
No. 5: Chloe Cook / Allie Elson (GSU) def. Camila Lau / Milica Zmiric (UNO) – 21-18, 16-21, 15-10
Exhibition: Ashley McGinn / Jessie Swaney (GSU) def. Lane Hindenburg / Madison Miller (UNO) – 21-10, 21-10