NEW ORLEANS – The LSU New Orleans Privateers continue their early season Southland road swing when they take on the East Texas A&M Lions and Northwestern State Lady Demons on Thursday and Saturday respectively.
 
Both matches will be carried on ESPN+.
 
The Privateers lost a tough battle in their last outing against defending Southland champion, Stephen F. Austin. LSU New Orleans was on the brink of forcing extra rallies in both sets two and three, but SFA closed out their one opportunity at set point on both occasions.
 
Armie Hall had 12 kills to lead the Privateer offense and Ryan Williams posted 11 kills. The Privateers also had six service aces.
 
Elani Ratchkovska has posted 27 kills in her last five appearances. Ratchkosvka, who has been with the Privateers all four seasons, led the team in kills last Thursday against Lamar with eight.
 
As a team, LSU New Orleans is fourth in the Southland in digs per set at 14.75, trailing only McNeese, UIW and Northwestern State. Mia Lopez continues to rank among the top five individually in digs at 4.42 per set. Ava Frerman, Peyton Cole and Rylie Hallman are all averaging over 2.0 digs per set.
 
Mariana Franco had 20 assists against Stephen F. Austin last Saturday. Including her junior college career, Franco is 24 assists away from reaching 2,000 for her career. Franco has 163 assists thus far on the season after racking up 1,813 in two years at Missouri State-West Plains.
 
The Privateers are 3-4 all-time against East Texas A&M with two of those wins coming in Commerce. The Lions took the only meeting last year in New Orleans. In 31 meetings against Northwestern State, the Privateers are 11-20. Last year, LSU New Orleans broke a seven-match losing streak against the Lady Demons with a 3-0 victory at home.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
East Texas A&M split their first weekend against conference opponents with a loss to UIW and a win against HCU. Jade Washington is fourth in the Southland in digs per set this year with 4.49. Washington has 858 career digs in a Lions uniform. Ariana Brown ranks ninth in the conference in kills per set at 3.05.
 
Northwestern State also split their opening weekend. The Lady Demons defeated HCU in four sets and lost to UIW in four sets. The Lady Demons are second in the conference in points per set and lowest opponent hitting percentage. Elsie Sanchez and Olivia Nzioki both rank in the top ten in the Southland in kills per set.
 
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
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