PRE-MATCH QUOTES
NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans beach volleyball program has accomplished several firsts during the 2016 season to date, but the team will have another first on Thursday, April 7, when the Privateers play host to Spring Hill College in the first-ever home match at the UNO Beach Volleyball Courts.
The UNO/Spring Hill match is slated to start at 4 p.m. with each team's No. 5 and No. 6 pairs to take the courts. From there, the No. 3 and 4 duals will begin at approximately 5 p.m. and the top of the lineup is slated to get started at 6 p.m. The UNO Beach Volleyball Courts are located behind the Human Performance Center, which is on the corner of Leon C. Simon Blvd. and Elysian Fields Ave., and admission is free.
"It's always fun to become a part of history and I have been fortunate to be able to do that as a coach at University of New Orleans a few times already," UNO head coach
Millicent Van Norden said. "As we have built our recruiting classes spanning over the next few years we use that fact alone to attract a specific type of student-athlete to our program – one that wants to make history.
"I'm excited that we were able to host at home this season as many people are anticipating the opportunity to see us compete. I believe the crowd is going to make it extremely fun and they will gain a good understanding of how NCAA beach volleyball is run."
The showdown between New Orleans and Spring Hill marks the third time during the 2016 season the two teams will square off on the dunes with each team having a victory. The Privateers won the first contest with a 3-2 decision on day one of the Pelican Classic on March 18 in Metairie, Louisiana, but the Badgers exacted a bit of revenge with a 3-2 win of their own last Saturday during the Blazer Beach Duals in Birmingham, Alabama.
UNO enters the midweek matchup 3-12 on the year and looking to snap a two-match skid after dropping a 5-0 decision to ULM and the aforementioned loss to Spring Hill. The Badgers, meanwhile, come to town 7-10 overall and winners of three of their last four matches. Following the 3-2 win over the Privateers, Spring Hill sandwiched a 4-1 win over Jacksonville State and Lincoln Memorial around a 4-1 loss to host UAB during last weekend's Blazer Beach Duals.
"This past weekend we had to battle through some injuries so our very close loss to Spring Hill was disappointing to say the least," Van Norden said. "We were right there in terms of being able to add to our success and close the match, but a few errors at key moments cost us. Each bout with Spring Hill has come down to a single pair differential and we feel that is due to some carelessness on our part.
"We have to be able to sustain a high level of play against good teams in order to win and we will need to rise to the occasion Thursday. I'm hopeful that our previous experience against this team and our frustration with our own performance last weekend will catapult us to a solidified win this Thursday."
Following the contest against Spring Hill, the Privateers will enjoy a weekend off before heading to Houston to take on host Houston Baptist and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for the HBU Invitational on Friday, April. 15.
--www.UNOPrivateers.com--
