Volleyball Looks To Continue Home Dominance Over Lamar

NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans prepares for its second home match of the 2016 season, as the Privateers host Lamar on Saturday, Sept. 23, at 2 p.m. in a Southland Conference match.

Last season, the two sides split the conference series with both winning on their home court. In the all-time series, UNO has never lost to Lamar when playing in the Human Performance Center.

"I like what we have been seeing from the team recently," head coach Millicent Van Norden explained. "We are starting to play more and more like a team and I hope to see us confident, focused and playing through the entire set with quality. Lamar is better than their record shows, they played a tough nonconference schedule and won't be easy to defeat. We are going to have to improve our hitting efficiency to win tomorrow." 

New Orleans began Southland Conference play on Thursday, Sept. 22, dropping a 3-0 decision to Houston Baptist in the Privateers first home match of the season to give them a 3-11 mark overall. As a team, the Privateers are averaging 10.8 kills off a .136 hitting percentage with 10.1 assists, 12.6 digs, 1.6 blocks and 1.4 service aces.

Freshman outside hitter Jordan Yauch (Biological Sciences) paces the UNO offense with 2.63 kills per set while chipping in 2.11 digs on defense. Sarah Thomas (Accounting and Finance) masterminds the attack with 8.62 assists per set, the third-highest in the Southland Conference, while leading the team in service aces with 13. On defense, Samantha Uline (Exercise Physiology) anchors the team with 3.51 digs per set, followed by Blessing Dunn (Business Management) with 3.10. At the net, Kaitlyn Grice (Biology) averages a team-best .82 blocks.

Saturday's competition also dropped their conference opener, a 3-2 thriller against Southeastern Louisiana, giving them an 0-13 mark on the season. Lamar averages 9.9 kills off a .105 clip with 9.0 assists, 10.2 digs, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 service aces per set.

Chelsea Grant carries the offense with 3.17 kills per set, getting passes from Ashley Ellis and Haley Morton who share the Cardinal's setter responsibilities with 6.52 and 5.56 assists respectively. Lauren Stahlman and Carlyn Stella lead the defense with 2.41 and 2.22 digs while Dennisha House boasts 1.20 blocks per set.

Following the match against Lamar, the Privateers hit the road to take on Abilene Christian on Thursday, Sept. 29, with first serve slated for 6:30 p.m. UNO returns to the Human Performance Center on Tuesday, Oct. 4 when McNeese State comes to the Lakefront for a Southland Conference match. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m., admission is free.