Beach Volleyball Drops 2 At HBU Invitational

HOUSTON – Three Privateer pairs posted victories but it was not enough as the University of New Orleans beach volleyball team dropped a pair of matches to Houston Baptist and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the HBU Invitational on Friday at the Third Coast Volleyball Courts.

After falling 4-1 to the host Huskies, UNO had a chance to earn a split with wins in No. 2 and No. 5 play against Corpus Christi only to see the Islanders claim straight-sets victories on Courts 3 and 5. The top tandem of freshman Kaitlin Grice and senior Celeste Ramirez bounced back from a 21-15, opening set loss to Morgan Carlson and Kate Klepetka to give the duo all they could handle before ultimately coming up short, 21-19.

In defeat, the Privateers fell to 3-15 on the year. Houston Baptist improved to 5-8 overall while Texas A&M-Corpus Christi jumped to 2-8.

The opening match against Houston Baptist was all Huskies early on as Kayla Armer and Hailey Durham defeated freshmen Blessing Dunn and Madison Miller 22-20, 21-15 while Guivere Meyer and Ashlee Vann rallied past freshman Lane Hindenburg and senior Milica Zmiric 13-21, 21-16, 15-6.

The No. 1 tandem of Aeriel Horton and Jessica Wooten clinched the team victory with a 21-9, 21-8 decision over Grice and Ramirez before Bailey Banks and Melissa Fuchs made it 4-0 with a 22-20, 21-14 win over senior Lauren Levy and sophomore Cara Sander in No. 2 play. UNO's lone win in the contest came on Court 3 where junior Brooklyn Frank and freshman Samantha Uline won the opener 22-20 over Hailey Erickson and Madison O'Brien, dropped the second frame 21-16, and bounced back with a 15-12 effort in the final stanza.

New Orleans and Texas A&M-Corpus Christ split the first two pairs contests in its match as Hindenburg and Zmiric swept Britany Gilpin and Morgan Williams 21-16, 21-15 on Court 5 while Dunn and Miller bounced back from a 21-12 loss to Kristyn Nicholson and Madison Woods with a 21-18, set-two win before falling in the third set 15-10 in No. 4 play.

Ivy Baresh and Mallory Moran  gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead with a 23-21, 21-11 victory over Frank and Uline in the No. 3 spot in the lineup and the Carlson/Klepetka vs Grice/Ramirez matchup provided the winning margin. The Privateers scored the contests' final point as Levy and Sander rebounded from a 21-13, opening-set loss to Brianna Brink and Madison Green to take the next two frames 21-15, 15-10.

New Orleans returns to action on Saturday, April 30, when the Privateers travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to take on host LSU, Houston Baptist and New Mexico in the opening day of the LSU Battle At The Beach. From there, the Privateers will wrap up the 2016 campaign on May 1 with contests against TCU and Tulane.
 
HOUSTON BAPTIST HUSKIES (5-8) DEFEAT NEW ORLEANS PRIVATEERS (3-14): 4-1
No. 1: Aeriel Horton / Jessica Wooten (HBU) def. Kaitlin Grice / Celeste Ramirez (UNO) – 21-9, 21-8
No. 2: Bailey Banks / Melissa Fuchs (HBU) def. Lauren Levy / Cara Sander (UNO) – 22-20, 21-14
No. 3: Brooklyn Frank / Samantha Uline (UNO) def. Hailey Erickson / Madison O'Brien (HBU) – 22-20, 16-21, 15-12
No. 4: Kayla Armer / Hailey Durham (HBU) def. Blessing Dunn / Madison Miller (UNO) – 22-20, 21-15
No. 5: Guinevere Meyer / Ashlee Vann (HBU) def. Lane Hindenburg / Milica Zmiric (UNO) – 13-21, 21-16, 15-6
 
TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI ISLANDERS (2-8) DEFEAT NEW ORLEANS PRIVATEERS (3-15): 3-2
No. 1: Morgan Carlson / Kate Klepetka (AMCC) def. Kaitlin Grice / Celeste Ramirez (UNO) – 21-15, 21-19
No. 2: Lauren Levy / Cara Sander (UNO) def. Brianna Brink / Madison Green (AMCC) – 13-21, 21-15, 15-10
No. 3: Ivy Baresh / Mallory Moran (AMCC) def. Brooklyn Frank / Samantha Uline (UNO) – 23-21, 21-11
No. 4: Kristyn Nicholson / Madison Woods (AMCC) def. Blessing Dunn / Madison Miller (UNO) – 21-12, 18-21, 15-10
No. 5: Lane Hindenburg / Milica Zmiric (UNO) def. Britany Gilpin / Morgan Williams (AMCC) – 21-16, 21-15
 
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