Ragin' Cajuns Conclude Regular Season at Home With UNO

Contact: Matt Hebert

Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot Media Luncheon Video

LAFAYETTE – The Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team closes out the 2012 regular season on Wednesday with a 7 p.m., match at Earl K. Long Gym against former Sun Belt Conference rival New Orleans.

Wednesday's match completes a home-and-home between the two programs this season. Louisiana (15-15) defeated UNO (7-14) in a straight sets sweep by scores of 25-18, 25-14, 25-22 on Oct. 16 in New Orleans.

It's the Privateers' first visit to Earl K. Long Gym since November 2009.

The Ragin' Cajuns have won 25 of the past 35 matches at Earl K. Long Gym dating back to 2010. UL is 7-3 on its home court this season, which includes a 24-11 record in sets.

Wednesday's match serves as the final home outing for seniors Blair Claypoole and Mandi Gavin. Claypoole has been the team's most efficient attacker this season hitting above .250 in 21 of 30 matches while Gavin became only the fourth player in program history to reach 3,000 career assists doing so in the earlier meeting with the Privateers.

Live coverage, both video and stats, is available on RaginCajuns.com.

Louisiana seeks to get back on the winning track, entering on a three-match losing streak, and build momentum heading into next week's Sun Belt Tournament in Bowling Green, Ky.

The Ragin' Cajuns were swept on the Arkansas road swing last weekend, preventing the team for staying in the hunt for the SBC West title and dashing the hopes of a winning Sun Belt mark for the first time since 2002. The losses dropped the Cajuns to 1-3 in the second round of Sun Belt West division battles, after going 3-1 in the first round.

With an off weekend in SBC action this coming weekend, the Cajuns will be scoreboard watching. UL needs one more FIU loss or two South Alabama losses to qualify for the SBC Tournament. FIU is at home hosting USA and Troy, while USA also visits Florida Atlantic in addition to FIU.

The Cajuns offense features five attackers with 200-plus kills led by Lavinia Tataran's 297. Joining Tataran above 200 kills is Blair Claypoole (265), Kelly Wiesmann (230), Andrea Hole (218) and Tonice White (215). Tataran needs just three kills to join Lesley Mirarchi (364 in 2010 and 302 in 2011) as the most recent Cajuns to tally 300-plus kills in a season.

Gavin's 44 assists at UALR on Sunday increased her career total to 3,250 which is the third-highest total in program history…Gavin has 1,066 assists this season which is 98 shy of her personal single-season best 1,164 set in 2010 (still has UNO match plus possible SBC Tournament berth).

Libero Caitlyn Auxilien posted her 24^th and 25^th matches with double digit digs on the Arkansas swing…Auxilien scooped up 34 digs on the trip, upping her season figure to 454 with the UNO match and possible Sun Belt Tournament matches on the horizon to try and reach 500 digs.

Another triumph will mark the 47^th for UL dating back to 2010 which would surpass the 46 wins over three seasons from 1999-2001 as the most recent best three-year victories tally. The last time the Cajuns posted at least 48 wins over a three-year period was 1997-99.

Louisiana needs two more victories to secure a winning record for the second time in the past three years.

The Privateers have dropped their last three matches including a 3-0 setback to the Cajuns in New Orleans.

The top three hitters on head coach Kim Young-Buford's squad are freshmen or sophomore. The group is led by sophomore Laila Hansen, who averages 2.58 kills per set.

Freshmen Brionne Smith and Taylor Berry follow Hansen with 2.1 and 2.0 kills per frame, respectively. Berry is also the Privateers' leading hitting with a .234 hitting clip while Smith ranks second at .231.

The two schools have played 91 previous matches with the Privateers holding a 48-33 edge, including a victory in the teams' last meeting at Earl K. Long Gym on Nov. 13, 2009. That night, the Cajuns were hurt by 30 attack errors which led to a -.025 hitting percentage. The Privateers posted 41 kills and committed only 13 attack errors. Gavin led UL with nine kills. Then- senior setter Kendra Hall dished out 21 assists in her home finale.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Ragin' Cajuns Conclude Regular Season at Home With UNO

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