CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — For the second straight year, McNeese volleyball, the No. 3 seed advanced to the Southland Conference Tournament semifinals under second year head coach Sasha Karelov following its straight set win (25-23, 25-14, 25-22) over No. 7 seed New Orleans Friday.
 
McNeese (16-16) will face No. 2 seed and the tournament host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 5 p.m. Saturday.  The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
"In the first set we weren't digging balls like we normally do," said head coach Sasha Karelov.  "We were going half speed and looking at other to make plays.
 
"In the second set, we made a mental shift and focus which resulted in some outstanding defensive plays.  Megan (Grose) did a solid job with her decision making and adjustments today.  Carissa (Chainey) was aggressive in all parts of her game."
 
The first set was back and forth halfway through the set, with McNeese holding a 16-11 lead following a Kayla Wilson kill.
 
UNO fought back from an 18-14 deficit to pull to within one point (18-17) then tied the set at 20.  A 3-1 by the Privateers gave them a 23-21 lead but a kill by Tshilanda Diouf and a UNO error tie the set at 23 all.  A Chainey kill gave McNeese a 24-23 lead and a setting error by UNO gave the Cowgirls the first set win.
 
In sets two and three McNeese jumped out to early leads and never looked back, easily winning the second set. 
 
McNeese opened the third set by winning the first six points before UNO scored its first point of the set.  The Cowgirls extended its lead to 16-9 but the Privateers didn't go down without a fight as they fought back from trailing 20-14 to pull to within two points following a 4-0 run.
 
Leading 23-21, McKenzie Moore gave McNeese a 24-21 lead with a kill.  Following a UNO point, Chainey's match high 15th kill gave the Cowgirls the third set win and the match win, advancing the Cowgirls to the semifinals.  Chainey added 15 digs for her 10 double double of the season.
 
Moore ended the match with 14 kills and the SLC "Freshman of the Year" Tshilanda Diouf ended the match with a .600 hitting percent with six kills in 10 attempts without an error and a match high four blocks.
 
Bailey Tillman, the SLC "Libero of the Year" was credited with 11 digs and setter Megan Grose dished out a match high 40 assists, her sixth match this season with 40 or more assists.
 
"Our serving picked up in sets 2 and three and we got UNO out-of-system.  We're excited for another battle on Saturday, and we will fight together to extend our season."