BOX SCORE (PDF)
BOULDER, Colo. – The University of New Orleans volleyball team began competition in the Omni Invitational on Friday afternoon with a strong opening set against Chicago State, but couldn't hold up in a 3-1 loss (13-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-22) at the Coors Events Center in Boulder, Colorado.
In the contest, the Privateers (3-8) posted a season-high 10.0 blocks, with a season-best average of 2.5 blocks per set. Sophomore
Kaitlyn Grice (Biology) led the Privateers with seven rejections in the match, tying her career-high. Freshman
Jordan Yauch (Biological Science) chipped in four while senior
Keke Richards (Business Management) and junior
Rondolyn Bryant (Exercise Physiology) both finished with three.
"I thought we started the match in the right way," head coach
Millicent Van Norden explained. "We were able to break their serve quickly and keep them on the defense early. As the match went on, we started to make some mistakes on offense which allowed Chicago State to go on lengthy runs and hold onto the momentum."
Yauch paced the attack with 15 kills, matching her career-best, with Bryant ending the contest with nine tallies on a .300 clip. Freshman
Sarah Thomas (Accounting and Finance) finished with a match-high 41 assists while also contributing five digs, two kills and a service ace.
Defensively, Sophomores
Samantha Uline (Exercise Physiology) and
Blessing Dunn (Business Management) both finished with double-digit digs with 18 and 15 respectively.
UNO dominated the opening set, hitting .435 with a match-best 15 kills while holding Chicago State (2-9) to a -.036 clip for a 25-13 victory. The two sides exchanged the opening 10 points to keep the score tied before a 4-0 run by the Privateers put them up 9-5. New Orleans produced another four-point spree later in the set, extending the separation and giving the Privateers a 16-8 advantage. The royal blue and silver continued to increase upon the lead, creating a double-digit cushion after a pair of kills from Yauch and one from Richards highlighted a 4-0 run to make it 23-12. Chicago State ended the streak with a point before back-to-back kills from Bryant and Yauch ended the frame.
Down 2-1 overall after dropping the second set 25-20 and the third 25-16, the Privateers fought to force a fifth set, but couldn't hold onto the early lead in a competitive 25-22 finale. UNO scored the first two points in the frame, with Yauch and Grice teaming up for an assisted block on the second play, and created a 6-3 advantage. The Privateers continued to fend off the Cougars, until a 3-0 rally by Chicago State put them ahead 11-10. Yauch knotted up the score at 11-all before a 4-0 response secured the lead for Chicago State at 15-11.
Chicago State took an early 3-2 lead in the second set and maintained the advantage throughout the frame. The Privateers were able to keep the stanza within reach until four-straight points by CSU gave them the 12-8 lead. New Orleans managed to bring it back to within two after a kill from Grice followed by an assisted block from Grice and Yauch, but another four-point spree by the Cougars extended the deficit to six at 19-13.
Chicago State led the entire third set, scoring the first four points to create separation. UNO was held without back-to-back points until a kill from Yauch and an assisted block from Yauch and Grice created a 3-0 run that cut the lead to three at 11-8. Chicago State pushed the lead to eight at 19-11 after a 3-0 run but failed to ever make it a double-digit lead as the Privateers ended the run with back-to-back points.
"The bottom line is that they worked harder than we did for every point," Van Norden concluded. "They were making plays on the floor to give them a chance and made adjustments after the first that gave us problems defensively."
UNO continues play in the Omni Invitational tonight at 8 p.m. against Colorado State in Fort Collins, Colorado. The Privateers' first home match is slated for Thursday, Sept. 22, when the Privateers play host to Houston Baptist in the Human Performance Center. First serve for the contest is slated for 7 p.m. and admission is free.
--www.UNOPrivateers.com--
