FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. ? One winless streak came to an end, while another one continued. Louisiana's recent stretch of hard luck remained unbroken as the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks handed the Ragin' Cajuns their fifth straight 3-0 (30-21, 30-24, 30-20) loss Friday night at the Fiesta Bowl Volleyball Tournament.
What was billed as the reunion of former and current UL head coaches turned into another tough outing for the Ragin' Cajuns (1-8). Louisiana, which fell for the eighth-straight time, stumbled out of the gate in game one and couldn't overcome the Lumberjacks.
Tournament host Northern Arizona (3-5), led by former UL head coach Chris Campbell, snapped its five-match losing skid.
Northern Arizona's Kim Babcock led all players with 20 kills, hitting an impressive .536 on 28 total attacks.
Elizabeth Inman (Fort Worth, Texas) paced the Ragin' Cajuns offensively, tallying 14 kills on 32 total attacks for a .188 attack percentage. Freshman Amie Goodwin (Tucson, Ariz.) added eight kills in her return to her home state of Arizona. Monica Deschaine (Boerne, Texas) added six kills and a team-best four blocks.
Senior Erika Castro (San Antonio, Texas) was held to a season-low nine digs. It was the first time Castro was held to single digits since Oct. 21, 2006, when she tallied eight digs at Middle Tennessee.
Louisiana's recent game one struggles continued against Northern Arizona. The Cajuns hit .129 as a team in the opening frame, while the Lumberjacks hammered home 15 kills en route to a 30-21 match-opening victory.
UL led just once in the first contest when it held a 1-0 lead to begin the match. Northern Arizona quickly rattled off four straight points to take a 4-1 advantage. The Cajuns were able to stay within four points for most of the first half of game one.
However, after UL cut the NAU lead to 14-12, the Lumberjacks blew the game open with six straight points to take a commanding 20-12 advantage. The Lumberjacks forced five UL errors down the stretch, ultimately clinching game one, 30-21.
The Cajuns didn't fare much better at the beginning of game two as Northern Arizona jumped out to an 8-1 lead. The Lumberjacks were credited with the first six points and 10 of the first 12. Despite trailing by as many as eight points early on, the Cajuns chipped away at the lead, relying on four Inman kills. The closest Louisiana would get in the second game would be three points, 19-16, before Northern Arizona pulled away. NAU tallied five straight points to pull away, 24-16.
Inman continued her outstanding second-game showing, recording three straight kills late in the frame, which would jump-state a UL rally. Trailing 27-20, the Cajuns tallied four straight points to again cut the NAU lead to three points, 27-24. But, it would not be enough to tie the match as the Lumberjacks scored the final three points to take a 30-24 win and a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
Overall, the Cajuns' offensive attack fared much better in the second game as UL hit .333, registering 16 kills to five errors on 33 total attacks. Northern Arizona matched the Cajuns' offensive output, also tallying 16 kills, while committing two more errors.
As has been the case during their streak of recent setbacks, the Ragin' Cajuns held an early lead in game three, 3-1. Louisiana would hang with NAU, holding its last lead of the match at 12-11. From there, the Lumberjacks outscored the Cajuns 19-8 to take the third and final game, 30-20.
Louisiana-Lafayette returns to the court Saturday for the second day of the Fiesta Bowl Tournament. The Cajuns will face the Duquesne Dukes at 11 a.m. (CT), followed by the High Point Panthers at 5:30 p.m. (CT). Live stats will be available via RaginCajuns.com.
Northern Arizona def. Louisiana-Lafayette 30-21,30-24,30-20
Louisiana-Lafayette (1-8) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Inman, Elizabeth
14-0-2; Goodwin, Amie 8-0-1; Deschaine, Monica 6-0-4; Knowlton, Tracie
3-0-0; Dufrene, Caroline 3-0-1; Brown, Linsday 2-0-0; Payan, Carly
1-0-0; Lehmann, Kim 1-1-0; Hall, Kendra 0-1-2; Totals 38-2-5.0.
(Assists) - Hall, Kendra 30. (Dig leaders) - Goodwin, Amie 9; Castro,
Erika 9
Northern Arizona (3-5) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Kim Babcock 20-2-2; Emily
Osiadacz 8-1-2; Chelsea Cheeley 7-1-0; Alexa Gutierrez 5-0-4; Alex
Fell 4-0-1; Roni Greenwood 2-0-1; Colleen Flooker 2-1-1; Kelly Verboom
2-2-1; Brittany Stowers 0-3-0; Totals 50-10-7.0. (Assists) - Kelly
Verboom 38. (Dig leaders) - Brittany Stowers 11; Kelly Verboom 10
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