LAKE CHARLES, La. – The New Orleans Privateers volleyball team threatened a comeback from a 2-0 deficit but McNeese surged late in the fourth set to secure a 3-1 (25-17, 25-18, 18-25, 25-23) decision on Thursday night at the Townsley Law Arena.
 
The Privateers jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the fourth set and grew their advantage to as many as eight points when they were ahead 16-8.
 
Shortly afterward, Kayla Wilson had four kills that sparked a 7-0 Cowgirls run which tied the score at 19-19. From there the teams traded points until McNeese scored on a Wilson kill and a Privateer attack error to take a 24-22 lead.
 
The Privateers saved the first look at match point but D'Nari Mills sealed the match for McNeese and thwarted the comeback attempt.
 
McNeese hit their first spurt of the match with a four-point stretch that gave them an early 8-4 lead. The Cowgirls had 17 kills and three blocks in the first set and the Privateers could not draw closer than within two points on two different occasions for the remainder of the set. McNeese hit .317 while the Privateers were limited to a .158 attack percentage.
 
The Cowgirls upped their attack percentage in the fourth set to .405 and registered 21 kills along with a pair of blocks. The score was tight early and the two teams were tied at 12-12 through the first 24 rallies of the set. From there, the Cowgirls went on a 6-0 run to take the lead for good in the set.
 
The Privateers trailed by as many as five points early in the third set but they steadily began to march back into the fold. Ania Anderson had four kills in the set and the service rotation of Sarah Jean Van Horn was crucial in the late stages.
 
Van Horn served two aces from ahead 20-17 and the Privateers got four straight points on her service before Anderson's fourth kill of the set trimmed the McNeese match lead to 2-1.
 
Wilson had 20 kills to lead the Cowgirls. Carli Banks had 17 kills and Mills had nine kills with a team-high 23 digs.
 
INSIDE THE BOX
Anderson led the Privateer offense with 18 kills and added 12 digs. Alessandra Meoni had 11 kills and 10 digs. Vanae Sapp finished with nine kills and 12 digs while Lani Alleman also added 10 of the team's 60 digs. Defne Eciroglu finished with 38 assists.
 
NEXT UP
The Privateers will close their season on Thursday night when they head to Nicholls for a 6:30 p.m. first serve.
 
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