NEW ORLEANS – Days before Halloween, Privateers fans put on their costumes and cheered on the University of New Orleans (10-14, 4-8 Southland) to a 3-1 win over Lamar University (4-18, 2-10 Southland) Saturday afternoon in the Human Performance Center. UNO went on two long runs in the match – a 9-1 run in set No. 3 and 10-1 in set No. 4 – to sweep the season series over the Cardinals with the 25-23, 18-25, 25-22, 25-18 win. For good measure, the Privateers ended the victory with seven unanswered points.
New Orleans hit .302 in the W, led by
Kaitlyn Grice's 12 kills (.500) and eight blocks.
FIRST SET
New Orleans got off to a strong start, forcing a Lamar timeout leading 11-6. The Cardinals regrouped and took a 14-13 lead before trading points with the Privateers. Moments later,
Rondolyn Bryant and
Lane Hindenburg's back-to-back kills put UNO ahead 19-18.
Déjà vu kicked in as Bryant's kill regained the lead for the Blue and Silver, 23-22, as the Cardinals took their final timeout of the stanza.
The Privateers closed the close set with the 25-23 victory, hitting 41.7 percent. Dunn and Vega registered five kills apiece, and Bryant and Hindenburg each added three. Nava's five digs were a set-high. Lamar hit .421 in the opening set.
SECOND SET
Lamar tied the match at 1 with a 25-18 win in set No. 2. The Cardinals continued to make the most of its offensive opportunities, hitting .481 in the set.
THIRD SET
A 6-0 New Orleans run saw the Privateers regain the lead 14-10. Ultimately, the run was officially 9-1 with blocks by Grice and
Kyra Hunter highlighting the comeback.
Lamar cut the deficit but Hindenburg and Grice tallied consecutive kills to extend the lead to 21-18. The Privateers took a 2-1 lead with the 25-22 victory. UNO hit .355 in the set and to this point, .333 as a team, led by Grice, Hunter and Bryant's eight kills. Grice registered five blocks and Hunter followed with four.
FOURTH SET
The Cardinals took a 14-6 lead looking to force a fifth set but New Orleans had other plans, posting five unanswered to make it 14-11. After a Lamar point, the Privateers added five more to take a 16-15 lead. The run was 10-1, the longest run of the match.
It was an amazing rally that ended with UNO scoring the match's final seven points for the 25-18 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Grice – the Southland Conference's leading attacker – kept the momentum with 12 kills on .500 hitting. The middle added eight blocks. Hunter followed with 11 kills (.391) and five blocks. Senior Ro Bryant reached double figures with 10 kills (.438).
Sarah Thomas tallied 24 assists.
NEXT UP
New Orleans hits the road to face McNeese State University November 2 at 7 p.m. and Nicholls State University November 4.
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