August 30, 2019
NEW ORLEANS – The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on the first day of the UNO Invitational, hosted by the University of New Orleans Friday at the Human Performance Center. UAPB fell to Louisiana- Monroe 3-0 and to North Dakota 3-1 in the night cap.
ULM 3 UAPB 0
The Lady Lions went toe to toe in the first two sets with Louisiana-Monroe but fell 21-25, 22-25, 19-25 in game one. The Lady Warhawks pulled away late, taking the third set in a hard-fought match by the Lady Lions. Junior Kaila Robinson and freshman Reagin Williams lead the way with seven kills apiece. Freshman Elyssa Kennedy had a game-high 15 assists, followed by Robinson with a team-high 10 digs.
“I think the girls did well against ULM,” said first-year UAPB head coach Chelsey Lucas. “Our ultimate goal is every time we touch the floor, we compete at a higher level. Something that we talk about all the time is we want to be known as a deep volleyball team, and what it’s going to take is work on the smaller things.”
North Dakota 3 UAPB 1
The Lady Lions stormed out in game two against the Fighting Hawks by taking the first set 25-23 but fell short in the final three sets 19-25, 20-25, 16-25.
Freshman Zyaire Garrit led the frontline for the Lady Lions with nine kills, followed by sophomore Haley Gomez with eight. Junior Delilah Cardenas made a solid contribution with 15 digs, followed by senior Micayala Pope with 19 assists and nine digs in the match.
“North Dakota was definitely longer and in some sets were a little more skill in certain areas,” said Lucas. “I felt at some point the team was making good strives to compete to win.”