Beach Volleyball To Host ULM On Tuesday At 2 pm

VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH COACH VAN NORDEN | PRE-MATCH QUOTES

NEW ORLEANS – It has been a long time coming, but after 18 matches away from the Crescent City the University of New Orleans beach volleyball team will play its first home contest of the 2017 season on Tuesday, April 18, when the Privateers play host to UNO at 2 p.m. on the ULM Beach Courts.

In their third season on the dunes, the Privateers have continued to build a solid foundation and enter the midweek matchup 5-13 on the year and coming off an extended break after last playing on April 1 at the Fifth Annual Surf & Turf Intercollegiate in Miami. The New Orleans squad was winless in six matches in that tournament, but each of them were against nationally-ranked programs and the team has learned valuable lessons along the way.

"We're very excited to be playing on our home court," UNO head coach Millicent Van Norden said. "It's a beautiful facility in a great place on our campus. We can't wait to show the student, faculty and staff what we have to offer with our beach program.

"I think we've gotten smarter. We're a very young team with a lot of freshmen as we've added new student-athletes to our program. We're excited that we're trending upward as the season has progressed. We've gotten better with every match. Obviously, the level of competition that we've played against has gotten a little better every time, and we're looking forward to this match."

The Privateers are 28-62 in pairs competition overall. New Orleans is 6-12 at the No. 1 spot while going 5-13 in No. 2 play, 7-11 at No. 3 and 5-13 at both the No. 4 and No. 5 spots.

UNO's most successful tandem to date has been freshman Victoria Corcoran and Cara Sander, who sport a 6-11 record at the top of the Privateer lineup. The team of senior Brook Frank and freshman Rachel Kuhn are next at 4-7 dating back to Frank's return to the court following an early-season injury back on March 11.

ULM, meanwhile, comes to town 16-10 on the year and fresh off a 3-2 showing at the Battle on the Bayou from April 1-15 in Baton Rouge, La. The Warhawks are 80-50 in pairs play to date, despite a 12-14 showing at the No. 1 spot. ULM is 17-9 in No. 2 play while going 14-12, 18-8 and 19-7 at the three, four and five slots.

Three pairs sport double-digit win totals as Rebecca Brown and Catherine Griffith are 18-2 while both Delaney Drive and Gabby Love as well as Grace Convey and Bailey Smith have 15 victories each.

Tuesday's showdown with the Warhawks marks the third meeting between the two teams in 2017 as ULM won both contest by scores of 5-0. While UNO's first loss came in five straight-set losses back on March 16 in Monroe, La., the Privateers had three pairs contests extend to three stanzas and six of the 13 overall sets in the rematch on March 25 were decided by just two points.

"This time, obviously, we're' hoping to win three of the five pairs," Van Norden said. "We definitely have seen what they have. They're a very smart team and they're very tactical from top to bottom. Looking at our pairs, we've made some adjustments in preparation for them and we're looking forward to playing smarter and more aggressive in our own way in the match tomorrow."

The contest against ULM is the first of three-consecutive home matches to end the season for the Privateers as UNO will close out the 2017 campaign on Saturday, April 29, when UNO plays host to Houston Baptist and Tulane in the New Orleans Invitational. First serve for those contests are slated for 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.