RUSTON, La. – The New Orleans Privateers battled back valiantly from down 2-0 but fell just short in a 3-2 loss to the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters on Saturday at the Louisiana Tech Invitational.
FIFTH SET
New Orleans was right in the fight but was left with a little too much to do. The Privateers did rally back to tie the set at 13-13 late but Louisiana Tech pushed across to the finish after they scored on the next two rallies with a kill and a block.
The Lady Techsters led by as many as four but had to hold off a hard charging Privateers squad that scored seven of the next ten points.
TRINITY SETS ANOTHER CAREER HIGH
Trinity Jackson recorded 33 digs on the match. It was her career high and it ties for the third most digs in a match in program history. It is also the most digs by a Privateer in a match since Andrea Nava had 40 in a match on Oct. 2018.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Four Privateers reached double figures in kills.
Alexis Parrish hit .481 while recording 16 kills in 27 attempts. Jackson had 13 kills while
Kai Williams and
Atira Jells had 12 and 11 respectively.
Rita Zecchin was one of four Privateers to reach double figures in digs with 16.
Rani Williams added 14 while
Maite Solabarrieta had 10 along with 56 assists.
Sh'Diamond Holly led the Privateers' block with four total blocks (two solo, two assist).
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first set featured seven ties and three lead changes as both teams were level in kills with 14 apiece. Jackson had four kills and six digs in the first set alone but the Lady Techsters countered with both blocks in the set that helped make a difference in a narrow opening set.
New Orleans had a positive start to the second set with a lead as big as 13-6 at the outset. A big part of that early momentum was the service line where the Privateers had four aces in the set. However, the Lady Techsters came back with a run of points including seven straight on one service rotation.
The Privateers had five chances at set point before Parrish converted by splitting the block on a kill. It was a third set that featured 10 ties and three lead changes. Jackson also had eight digs in the set for the Privateer defense.
In the fourth set, the Privateers got out to an early 5-2 lead but were trailing 16-13 late on. The New Orleans block stepped up in a big way though with five blocks at the net and the Privateers had seven more kills in the set.
NEXT UP
The Privateers will begin Southland play on Sept. 25 against Nicholls.
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