NEW ORLEANS – The LSU New Orleans Privateers were on the cusp of victory, but Oral Roberts rallied back with a late fifth set run as the Privateers lost both matches on the day. LSU New Orleans fell just short 3-2 against Oral Roberts and lost 3-1 earlier in the day to Stonehill.
ORAL ROBERTS-3 LSU NEW ORLEANS-2
The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles turned back a Privateer rally from down five points in the deciding fifth set and took the match 15-10 in the decider on Saturday evening at the Human Performance Center.
After an overturned call by virtue of a Coach
Ashley Preston challenge, the Privateers tied the score at 9-9. However, Oral Roberts had kills by four different players as part of a 6-1 run to close out the match and secure the victory for the Golden Eagles.
It was a match of runs on both sides. Neither team won by fewer than eight points in any of the first four sets.
The Privateers steadily pulled away in the back half of the set behind a balanced attack that saw
Ania Anderson,
Laura Piva and
Mariana Franco combine for 10 kills in the opening set.
After Oral Roberts took the second set when they built an 11-point lead, the Privateers put together a superb set of their own. They hit .700 and held the Golden Eagles to just 10 points to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Oral Roberts scored the first six points of the fourth set though and the Privateers were left trying to chase the set. LSU New Orleans got back to within three points but could not draw any closer.
INSIDE THE BOX
Anderson led the Privateers with 15 kills while Piva finished with 14 and
Armie Hall had 11.
Mia Lopez finished with 20 digs and
Rylie Hallman had a Privateer career-best 17 digs.
STONEHILL-3 LSU NEW ORLEANS-1
The Stonehill Skyhawks overcame an early deficit with an efficient day at the service line as they defeated the Privateers 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-17) in the first match of the day at the Human Performance Center.
The Skyhawks (1-2), notched their first win of the season behind a 13-3 advantage in the service ace department.
Reegan Mishkin delivered a run of four aces as part of a 5-0 spurt that vaulted the Skyhawks to a 10-5 lead early in the third set. Stonehill wound up with six aces in that set alone to the Privateers' one.
In what turned into the deciding set, Stonehill had four aces. Gabi Polishuk had three of those including back-to-back rallies early in the fourth set. The Privateers were behind by as many as seven points in that set. They narrowed the gap to three but could not draw closer.
After being limited to a .146 attack percentage in the opening set, Stonehill hit .300 or better in each of the last three sets. Addy Frye had a career-high 20 kills. Catherine Detweiler and Samantha Loyd each had 12 kills.
INSIDE THE BOX
Hall finished with 10 kills while Piva had nine kills and Anderson tallied eight.
Alana Pierce was in on four blocks. Franco (15) and
Defne Eciroglu (14) split the assists almost evenly. Lopez had 16 digs to lead the Privateer defense.
NEXT UP
The Privateers travel to San Jose State to take part in their invitational next weekend.
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.
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