NEW ORLEANS - The Louisiana Christian University volleyball team opened its Big Easy Blastoff tournament slate with a pair of 3-0 losses, falling to the Dillard Bleu Devils 25-18, 25-21, 25-19, and then fell 3-0 to the hosts, Xavier Gold Nuggets, 25-11, 25-20, 25-8 Friday at the Convocation Center.
The Wildcats (1-5) faced a 9-2 deficit in the first set against Dillard (2-3) but worked back into contention behind their attack and play at the net.
Natalie Aasen contributed to a block and added kills as Louisiana Christian twice reduced the deficit to four, including at 21-17. The Bleu Devils responded by winning four of the final five points to close the set.
Louisiana Christian found its best rhythm over the next two sets. A kill by
Joie Goodwin gave the Wildcats an 11-8 advantage in the second before Dillard used four straight points to move ahead 12-11.
Holly Rowe later delivered a kill that pulled the Wildcats within 23-21, but Dillard claimed the final two points. The Wildcats led 14-12 in the third set before a five-point run put the Bleu Devils in front. A
Mallory Wills kill cut the margin to 20-18, but four consecutive points carried Dillard to match point.
Holly Rowe paced Louisiana Christian against Dillard with nine kills, a .250 hitting percentage and one block assist.
Emma Cother distributed 18 assists and served one ace, while Aasen recorded seven kills, eight digs and two block assists.
Yadneli Molina led the Wildcats with nine digs, and
Kaliyah Cross hit .400 with three kills and two block assists. Louisiana Christian finished with 29 kills, 26 assists, three aces, 34 digs and four total blocks.
In the second match, Xavier (1-4) took control of the opening set before the Wildcats mounted their strongest challenge in the second. After LCU trailed 16-11, a kill by Aasen started a push that brought the Wildcats within three. Another kill by Rowe later began a three-point run, and two consecutive Gold Nugget attack errors trimmed the deficit to 21-20. Xavier answered with four straight points to secure the set. Louisiana Christian opened the third with a block-assisted point, but an ensuing 8-0 run shifted the set to XULA.
Aasen led the Wildcats in the second match with eight kills and five digs. Cother had nine assists, one ace and four digs, while
Kylie Elmore added seven assists and four digs. Rowe contributed three kills and three block assists, Wills had four block assists, and Molina collected seven digs. Louisiana Christian totaled six blocks, matching Xavier.
The Wildcats close out the Big Easy Blast Off on Saturday, taking on a new rival in RRAC volleyball in the LSU Shreveport Pilots (4-4) in a non-conference match at 9 a.m. before wrapping up the event at 4:30 p.m. with a match against the #24 Mobile Rams (10-1). All matches of the Big Easy Blast Off are being played at the Convocation Center on the campus of Xavier University of Louisiana and being live streamed on Urban Edge Network.
