NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Privateers will open their home schedule this week with four matches in the Southland-SWAC Challenge. The Privateers will take on Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Southern, Alabama A&M and Grambling between Thursday and Sunday at the Human Performance Center.
The Privateers (2-4) defeated Stonehill in three sets to finish their stay in the Morgan State-Towson Tiger Invitational last weekend.
Courtney Roundtree had a massive tournament that included 38 total kills against Kent State, Towson and Stonehill. In the last match, Roundtree hit at a .526 clip against the Skyhawks in 19 attempts. In 22 sets this season, Roundtree has 69 kills. She ranks ninth in the Southland in kills per set.
The Privateers also have three student-athletes who dot the Southland's top ten list in hitting percentage.
Ania Anderson ranks tenth with a .306 attack percentage. Roundtree is a spot above with a .307 attack percentage and
Laura Piva is tied for sixth with a .317 attack percentage.
Celia Mbaya continues to pace the Privateers' back row defense after a weekend that saw the France native record 54 digs. That included a match-high 24 against Towson. Mbaya's 3.77 digs per set rank sixth in the conference heading into the weekend.
New Orleans is 95-23 all-time against SWAC opponents including a win against Texas Southern in the first weekend of the season. The Privateers are 5-1 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 42-11 against Southern, 1-0 against Alabama A&M and 2-1 against Grambling.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
Arkansas-Pine Bluff is still searching for their first win of the season. The Golden Lions' offense is led by Ashanti Butler who has 51 kills. Zuzanna Zietek has 34 kills. Butler had a season-high five blocks against Tennessee State last weekend.
Southern (2-4) beat South Carolina State and Morgan State in the Betty Austin Invitational during the opening weekend. Ariana Brown had 28 kills in their first victory of the season against South Carolina State and leads the team with 82 kills on the year.
Alabama A&M comes in with the best record of the bunch at 5-1. Last weekend, they defeated North Alabama, Miles College and West Georgia. Fatima Ramirez was named First Team All-SWAC in the preseason.
Grambling is also searching for their first win of the season as they come in with a mark of 0-4. Leisey Kelly is averaging 3.67 digs per set. Kenya Lucas leads the offense with 23 kills on the year.
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