DENTON, Texas ? On the heels of winning its first five-game match of the season, Louisiana had a chance to make it two-in-a-row Friday night. However, for the second time this season, the North Texas Mean Green was able to outlast the Ragin' Cajuns 3-2 (30-28, 21-30, 34-32, 23-30, 11-5).
Friday's match marked the second time this season that North Texas needed five games to defeat the Ragin' Cajuns. Louisiana is now 1-5 this season in five-game matches.
North Texas (11-18, 7-8 Sun Belt) hit .222 as a team, including a match-best .381 in the fifth game. Louisiana (4-26, 3-12 Sun Belt) played its longest match of the season, despite having three players in double figures.
Elizabeth Inman (Fort Worth, Texas), Tracie Knowlton (Forest Grove, Ore.) and Caroline Dufrene (Lake Charles, La.) all had 13 kills each for the Cajuns, while Amie Goodwin (Tucson, Ariz.) added nine of her own.
Knowlton recorded a match-high seven blocks, while Dufrene added five. Erika Castro (San Antonio, Texas) led the Cajuns with 26 digs.
North Texas' Brooke Engel led all players with 16 kills. Rachel Raley added 14, while Katy Prokof registered 12 kills.
Louisiana took a 1-0 lead in the match, winning the first game 30-28. UL would lead by as many as five points in the frame, 27-22, before holding on for the two-point victory.
The Cajuns' momentum carried over to the early part of game two, as UL took a 6-1 lead before a North Texas timeout. That timeout would prove to be the turning point of the game as the Mean Green tallied to cut the lead to 9-8. However, the lead bounded back and forth until North Texas pulled away from a 14-14 tie. The Mean Green scored 16 of the game's final 23 points for the 30-21 win, knotting the match at 1-1.
Louisiana arguably played its best and toughest single-game of the season in game three. Although North Texas held a 23-16 lead, the Cajuns stormed back to tie the game at 27 all, including a seven-point rally.
UL denied North Texas game point, tying the contest at 29 apiece. With the Cajuns holding a 30-29 lead, the Mean Green returned the favor, also denying the Cajuns game point. Extra time would be needed to decide the third game. Tied at 32-32, UL used a Goodwin kill and a North Texas attack error to seal the 34-32 win.
However, as has been the case all season long after a third game, Louisiana started to wear down as was evident in games four and five. North Texas jumped out to an early and never looked back, taking a 30-23 win in game four to tie the match at 2-2.
In game five, the Mean Green took a quick 4-0 lead until Knowlton recorded a kill for Louisiana's first point of the frame. The Cajuns got as close as one point, 7-6, before North Texas pulled away for the 15-11 winner.
Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns will conclude their three-match road trip when they head to Denver, Colo., to face the Denver Pioneers Sunday at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available at RaginCajuns.com.
North Texas def. Louisiana-Lafayette 28-30,30-21,32-34,30-23,15-11
Louisiana-Lafayette (4-26, 3-12) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Knowlton,
Tracie 13-0-7; Dufrene, Caroline 13-0-5; Inman, Elizabeth 13-0-1;
Goodwin, Amie 9-1-0; Deschaine, Monica 8-5-1; Hall, Kendra 4-1-1;
Brown, Lindsay 2-3-0; Castro, Erika 1-2-0; Totals 63-12-8.0. (Assists)
- Hall, Kendra 49. (Dig leaders) - Castro, Erika 26; Goodwin, Amie 11;
Hall, Kendra 10; Brown, Lindsay 9
North Texas (11-18, 7-8) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Engel, Brooke 16-3-2;
Raley, Rachel 14-4-2; Prokof, Katy 12-0-1; Wendell, Erica 10-0-7;
Huddleston, Amy 9-0-2; Maddox, Heather 3-4-1; Robins, Kelsey 1-0-0;
Waggoner, Ashley 0-2-0; Hulsebosch, Jessica 0-2-0; Totals 65-15-9.0.
(Assists) - Maddox, Heather 51. (Dig leaders) - Hulsebosch, Jessica
27; Robins, Kelsey 11; Prokof, Katy 9; Maddox, Heather 8
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