NEW ORLEANS – The LSU New Orleans Privateers volleyball team will enter their last week of competition starting Thursday when they face off against Lamar. The regular season closes with a Saturday bout against Stephen F. Austin at 1 p.m. Thursday's match will be carried on ESPN+.
 
The Privateers lost both matches against Southeastern last week. LSU New Orleans pushed the Lions to a fourth set last Thursday and nearly pushed it to a fifth set, but were defeated 28-26 in the fourth set.
 
Ryan Williams and Armie Hall each had 14 kills in the last outing against Southeastern while Ava Frerman finished with 10 kills. Vladana Ristic had a team-high 23 digs.
 
Ristic is averaging 5.1 digs per set over her last six matches. In that span, she has two matches of 20 or more digs and has 97 total digs starting from the Privateers' Oct. 22 match against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
Defne Eciroglu is poised to become the latest to join the 2,000 assist club at LSU New Orleans. She had 21 assists last Thursday against Southeastern, which pushed her career total to 1,994. Six women have achieved 2,000 career assists at LSU New Orleans in program history. The most recent member of that club is Sarah Thomas who did it in 2018.
 
The Privateers lost against Lamar and Stephen F. Austin on the road earlier this season. LSU New Orleans is 23-33 all-time against Lamar and is 9-4 vs. the Cardinals in New Orleans. Against Stephen F. Austin, the Privateers are 5-21.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
Lamar is looking to lock up one of the last spots in the Southland tournament. The Cardinals are tied for seventh with Northwestern State and one game up on ninth place East Texas A&M. Gabby Baker recently reached 1,000 career digs at Lamar and ranks fifth in the conference in digs per set at 4.61. Maja Malinowska has 3.7 kills per set, most in the Southland.
 
Stephen F. Austin is in a three-way tie for first place in the Southland standings at 12-2 along with Southeastern and UIW. The Ladyjacks lead the conference in points and hitting percentage. Jordan Henderson ranks second in the conference in hitting percentage at .347. Kyanna Creecy leads the conference in blocks per set with 1.25.
 
SEASON TICKETS
Tickets for all home matches are available here.
 
ABOUT LSU NEW ORLEANS
In July of 2026 the University of New Orleans rejoined the LSU system and rebranded to "LSU New Orleans" bringing together two powerful brands - the purple and gold of LSU with the unbreakable spirit of New Orleans. The transition marks a return to the LSU family for the University - a place it called home from 1958-2011. Athletic teams will remain the Privateers and continue to compete in the Southland Conference.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow @PrivateersVB on X, @PrivateersVB on Instagram, like /PrivateersVB on Facebook and subscribe to the PrivateerAthletics YouTube channel.