HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana University (2-19, 0-7 Southland) looked poised to defend its home court, cruising to a 2-0 lead but the University of New Orleans (8-11, 2-5 Southland) – no stranger to five set matches – stormed back with a 29-27 victory in set No. 3 en route to a five-set victory Saturday afternoon at the University Center. After falling 25-21, 25-19 in the opening stanzas, the Privateers forced a fourth set with the marathon No. 3 going to UNO 29-27, followed by a 25-19 win at No. 4. In the decisive set, New Orleans completed the rally with a 15-12 win.
Kaitlyn Grice and
Lane Hindenburg were sensational all afternoon, combining for 31 kills. Grice finished with a career-high 16 kills on .600 hitting and added three blocks and two aces, while Hindenburg collected 15 kills (.577).
Blessing Dunn tallied her fourth double-double of the season with 10 kills and 14 digs.
Sarah Thomas led all with a season-high 45 assists to go with her eight digs and two aces.
SET ONE
Dunn picked up six digs and Grice swatted away two shots – one solo – but the Lady Lions jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a 25-21 win. In the set, UNO trailed 14-10 early before erasing the deficit, tying No. 1 at 16-16.
SET TWO
Grice and
Rondolyn Bryant picked up three kills apiece but Southeastern took a 2-0 lead with the 25-19 victory.
SET THREE
There were seventeen ties in set No. 3 and the Lady Lions were on match point three times before the Privateers' clutch kills off the assist by Thomas. Grice picked up six kills on eight attempts in the set, followed by Dunn's four kills and five digs.
Brianna Vega and Hindenburg each collected three kills, Thomas assisted on 17 kills and
Samantha Uline led the club with seven digs.
SET FOUR
Set four was all UNO as the Privateers extended their lead to 23-14 before a Southeastern timeout. All in all, New Orleans erased a 2-0 deficit by taking No. 4 25-19.
SET FIVE
The lead was all UNO's with the visiting team taking a 12-7 lead before putting the stamp on a comeback with the 15-12 victory and 3-2 match.
STATS/UP NEXT
The Privateers improved to 5-3 in five set matches in 2017. The first half of Southland Conference play concludes next week as New Orleans will be busy with three matches in five days (at Lamar Tuesday, hosting Northwestern State Thursday and hosting Central Arkansas Saturday).
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