TUSCALOOSA, Ala.—McNeese volleyball battled and showed grit in both of its matches here Friday on the first day of the Alabama Crimson Tide Tournament but couldn't come away with a win, falling 3-1 (19-25, 25-19, 15-25, 22-5) to Alabama and 3-0 (25-27, 23-25, 14-25) to Southern Miss. McNeese will face UTSA at 11 a.m. Saturday to close out tournament play.
Senior
Kendall Glueck led the Cowgirls with a total of 18 kills on the day with transfer
Nejra Hanic collecting 13 kills on the day.
Macee Krpec also contributed with a total of 11 kills for the day.
Libero
Lizzy Low was all over the court defensively, ending day one with 30 digs while UTSA transfer
Mia Perales dished out 26 assists. At the net, freshman
Sanni Rantanen turned back a total of nine blocks while
Bria Plante and Deja Dade both had five apiece.
Head Coach Sasha Karelov Quotes
(vs. Alabama)
"We battled hard against Alabama. They served tough which caused our passing to break down a little bit but I thought our blocking did a great job of picking us up. I'm proud of the way we stuck together."
(vs. Southern Miss)
"I think we lost sight of the little things and our transition started to get sloppy. Our serve receive was consistent but we still couldn't get into and offensive rhythm. We learned a lot about ourselves in this match."
McNeese Match Notes (Day 1)
• It was the beginning of the Sash Karelov era and her first matches as a collegiate head coach
• A combined 13 players saw action
•
Kendall Glueck led the Cowgirls with 18 kills
•
Lizzy Low led the Cowgirls with 30 digs
• Freshman Sunni Rantanen was credited with nine blocks
•
Mia Perales dished out 26 assists
• McNeese will play UTSA at 11 a.m. Saturday in their final match of the tournament
McNeese Stat Leaders
vs. Alabama
Kills: 7,
Nejra Hanic
Assists: 12,
Mia Perales
Digs: 18,
Lizzy Low
Blocks: 5,
Bria Plante
Hitting Percent: .444, Deja Dade
vs. Southern Miss
Kills: 12,
Kendall Glueck
Assists: 14,
Mia Perales
Digs: 13,
Mia Perales
Blocks: 5,
Sanni Rantanen
Hitting Percent: .250,
McKenzie Moore
