CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The New Orleans Privateers battled valiantly in what turned out to be their last match of the season as they were eliminated 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-22) by the McNeese Cowgirls in the Southland Tournament on Friday at Dugan Wellness Center.
Though the Cowgirls swept the match, the Privateers had chances in the first and third set. The night started out on an even keel with both teams trading points early. McNeese eventually crept away to a five-point lead at 16-11.
New Orleans took the fight right back to the higher seed though as the offense ramped up with kills by
Karen Cordero Barr,
Ryan Williams,
Buse Kocakaya and
Courtney Roundtree in a stretch that got the deficit within one.
The Privateers then scored three straight points to take a 23-21 lead and forced a McNeese timeout. The Cowgirls came out of the huddle and engineered two kills along with a block as part of a 4-0 spurt to close the set in their favor.
McNeese controlled the second set from the start when they sprinted to a 6-1 lead. They had a 15-8 advantage in the kill department.
In the third set, the Cowgirls looked to be in cruise control for most of the set but New Orleans had one more run that put a scare into the 3-seed. McNeese was ahead 18-11 when the Privateers commenced a rally sparked by
Ava Kennon.
Kennon had two kills and two blocks over the ensuing nine rallies and the Privateers cut the deficit down to 20-18 in that span. That was as close as the Privateers got though as McNeese held on to advance to the semifinals against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
INSIDE THE BOX
Cordero went for a team-high 12 kills along with six digs. Williams added 11 kills and hit .346 for the match.
Lani Alleman had a team-high 10 digs and
Defne Eciroglu had 26 assists. The block was led by
Sydney Gott who had three total rejections.
McNeese was led by Carissa Chainey and McKenzie Moore who combined for 29 of the team's 52 kills on the night. Chainey also led the team in digs with 15.
WE ARE YOUR KREWE
For 54 seasons, Privateer student-athletes have had the unique experience of wearing New Orleans across their chests. Like the city itself, our sports teams have been fueled by resiliency, grit, and the unquenchable desire to win. Our city also houses the nation's biggest celebration each year. And much like a Mardi Gras parade krewe, we are tethered to our community through pride, tradition, a culture of acceptance, and finally our commitment to show that New Orleans is a world-class city to live, learn, play and work. We invite you to become more involved with the only University that truly represents New Orleans all day, every day. Join #NOLAsTeam, We Are Your Krewe!
Visit UNOPrivateers.com/signup to stay connected and follow us @UNOPrivateers on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow
@PrivateersVB on Twitter/X,
@PrivateersVB on Instagram, like
/PrivateersVB on Facebook and subscribe to the
PrivateerAthletics YouTube channel.
