University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Cajuns Douse Flames in Five Games, Snap Losing Streak
9/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Friday, Sept. 17, 2004
OXFORD, Miss. – Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team headed to the Ole Miss Rebel Classic in need of a confidence booster before entering Sun Belt Conference play next weekend.
That boost might have been provided here Friday afternoon when the squad ended week's worth of frustration and snapped a season-high, nine-match losing streak with a 3-2 (18-30, 30-24, 18-30, 30-19, 15-6) come-from-behind victory over Illinois-Chicago at the Gillom Sports Center.
The Ragin' Cajuns (3-9) rallied from a 2-1 deficit with commanding victories in games four and five and in the process registered their first win since sweeping the Southeastern Tri-Match on Sept. 1.
Hope Webre turned in a season-high 15 kills on 29 attempts and Jessica Pattison backed her up with a career-best 14 kills on 26 attempts.
The entire UL Lafayette starting lineup turned in an impressive performance by combining for 53 of the team's 54 total kills.
Freshman Erika Castro posted a match-high 14 digs and freshman setter Katelynn Stiefel handed out a season-high 42 assists.
It was no coincidence that the Cajuns losing streak came to an end against UIC.
Louisiana-Lafayette turned in a team hitting percentage of .216 – the highest since the season opening wins. The 54 kills were the second-most since tallying 60 in the season opener with Southeastern Louisiana.
One glance at the stat sheet shows an even match. Both teams had 54 kills, UIC had a 47-45 advantage in assists and the match featured 14 tied scores and 11 lead changes.
The Cajuns pulled out the victory with its frontline defense that piled up a season-high 17 blocks (five solo).
Down 2-1, the Cajuns chalked up six blocks in cruising to a 30-19 victory that evened the match and set up the decisive fifth game.
Stacy Liverett posted a team-best eight blocks with Kim Rodgers a close second at seven. Liverett and Elina Salomaki each had two solo stuffs.
UL Lafayette enjoyed a 9-2 advantage in kills in the match-clinching fifth set. The Cajuns made just one error and needed just 12 attempts to make quick work of UIC.
The Cajuns were able to turn the tables in the fourth and fifth games as the Flames (4-7) were held to negative hitting percentages hitting a combined -.067.
Louisiana-Lafayette concludes its stay in Oxford with a 4 p.m. match against Jacksonville State.
MATCH SUMMARY
Louisiana-Lafayette vs.
Illinois-Chicago
Site: Oxford, Miss. (Gillom Sports Center)
Date: Friday, Sept. 17, 2004
Att: 59 Time: 1:43
Louisiana-Lafayette 3,
Illinois-Chicago 2
1 2 3
4 5
UIC (4-7)
30 24 30 19 6
UL Lafayette (3-9)
18 30 18 30 15
Illinois-Chicago (4-7) (Kills-aces-blocks) -
Herrington 16-0-3; Springer 14-0-2; Studzinski 8-1-1;
Nedeljkovic 7-2-1; Strahanoski 4-2-0; Kozak 3-4-0; Hoffman
1-0-0; Mankus 1-0-0; Kufta 0-2-0; Totals 54-11-5.0.
(Assists) - Kozak 42. (Dig leaders) - Kufta 13;
Studzinski 11; Kozak 8; Strahanoski 8.
Louisiana-Lafayette (3-9) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Webre 15-0-1; Pattison 14-0-3; Rodgers 9-1-7; Liverett 8-0-8; Salomaki 7-2-5; Aliaga 1-0-1; Zimmer 0-1-0; Stiefel 0-1-4; Castro 0-2-0; Totals 54-7-17.0. (Assists) - Stiefel 42. (Dig leaders) - Castro 14; Webre 7.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
