The New Orleans beach volleyball team finished 2-2 at the Southland Mid-Conference Tournament this weekend in Houston. On the final day of competition, the Privateers (7-5) neared a clean sweep over Nicholls State finishing 4-1 before falling in a 3-2 battle to HCU.
Ania Esarte and
Maria Ozaeta went 1-1 on court one and held the Colonels to single digits in their straight set victory. The pair started off strong in their first set win over the Huskies but were undone in their comeback in the final two sets.
The senior duo
Alexa Spartz and
Trinity Jackson went 2-0 at court two defeating both the Colonels and Huskies in straight sets. They now have a team-best 9-3 record together.
Hannah Volpi and
Valerie Vujnovich added a point for the Privateers at court three against the Huskies after dropping the lone match to Nicholls earlier in the day.
While
Valentina Echeverri and Ivana Peixe cruised to victory in straight sets over the Colonels, they struggled to find footing against the Huskies dropping in straight sets. The pair is now 2-2 together.
Rita Zecchin and
Serena Baumgart pushed the Huskies to the brink on court five, but HCU was able to get the victory.
New Orleans now turns its attention to The Mardi Gras Invitational hosted by Southeastern in Longwood, La. next weekend, March 17-18. The match against SLU will count towards seeding for the conference tournament. There, the Privateers will also play University of Texas at El Paso and Texas A&M University - Kingsville.
New Orleans 4, Nicholls 1
1. Ozaeta, Maria/Esarte, Ania (UNO) def. Aspen Steele/Hailey Mason (NICH) 21-9, 21-7
2. Spartz, Alexa/Jackson, Trinity (UNO) def. Luciana Chuong/Katie Jones (NICH) 21-10, 21-16
3. Bethanie Durant/Alisha Wischkaemper (NICH) def. Volpi, Hannah/Vujnovich, Valerie (UNO) 11-21, 21-15, 15-11 4. Echeverri, Valentina/de Carvalho Peixe, I (UNO) def. McKenna Malone/McKay Wilson (NICH) 21-19, 21-10
5. Baumgart, Serena/Zecchin, Rita (UNO) def. Taylor Heeb/Kendall Battistella (NICH) 21-13, 21-11
Ext. Salazar, Ashley/Dykstra, Renata (UNO) def. Caitlin Green/Hailey Mason (NICH) 21-5, 21-8
New Orleans 2, HCU 3
1. Stanfill, Alison/Butters, Maddie (HCU) def. Ozaeta, Maria/Esarte, Ania (UNO) 18-21, 21-17, 15-13
2. Spartz, Alexa/Jackson, Trinity (UNO) def. Kleymeyer, Kristen/Harris, Lindsay (HCU) 21-17, 21-16
3. Volpi, Hannah/Vujnovich, Valerie (UNO) def. Reinard, Abbey/Bufkin, Abbey (HCU) 22-20, 21-12
4. Palmer, Paige/O'Neal, Shelby (HCU) def. de Carvalho Peixe, I/Echeverri, Valentina (UNO) 21-13, 21-12
5. Alper, Mary/Griffith, Kylann (HCU) def. Baumgart, Serena/Zecchin, Rita (UNO) 21-17, 15-21, 15-12
Ext. Silverthorn, Alisia/Kenney, Victoria (HCU) def. Salazar, Ashley/Dykstra, Renata (UNO) 21-18, 20-22, 15-13
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