University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Cajuns Face Pair of SBC East Foes
10/21/2010 5:16:00 PM | Volleyball
Louisiana's volleyball team faces the top two teams in the Sun Belt East on the road this weekend as the Ragin' Cajuns visit Western Kentucky on Friday, Oct. 22 and Middle Tennessee on Saturday, Oct. 23. Both matches are scheduled for 7:00 p.m. first serves.
UL (13-10, 3-4 Sun Belt) is coming off a 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-12, 25-20) of Southern on Tuesday evening. The victory was the 10th non-conference win for the Cajuns, marking the first time since 1997 a Louisiana squad had accomplished this mark.
In Sun Belt Conference play, the Cajuns are looking to snap a two-match skid after dropping a pair of contests last weekend to North Texas and Denver.
Middle blocker Lesley Mirarchi has totaled 272 kills in 89 sets played this season, posting a team-leading 3.06 kills per set. The junior leads the team with 79 total blocks, averaging 0.89 per set. In the match at Southern, Mirarchi set a new school rally era single-match record when she hit .750 in the contest.
Mandi Gavin ranks fourth in the Sun Belt with 863 assists for an average of 9.70 assists per set. The setter is third in the league with 31 service aces in 89 sets played. Gavin is second on the team in blocks with 55 (0.66 per set) and has tallied 84 kills (0.94 per set) this season.
Helping UL's offense maintain the balanced attack has been Caroline Dufrene and Kerrilyn Lazare.
In 23 matches, Dufrene has posted a 2.32 kills (202 total) per set average, topping the 200-mark in kills on Tuesday.
Lazare has thrown down 195 kills (2.19 kills per set) in 89 sets this season, notching 55 blocks for an average of 0.62 blocks per set.
Freshman Taylor Meade continues to impress during her rookie campaign. The Coppell, Texas native has 178 kills (2.00 kills per set) and ranks second on the squad with 236 digs (2.65 digs per set). Meade is second in the Sun Belt with 33 service aces.
Lindsay Brown continues to lead UL defensively, notching 5.07 digs per set. Brown leads the SBC with 451 total digs this season.
Western Kentucky (19-6, 8-1 Sun Belt) is riding a four-match win streak in SBC play. The Hilltoppers' only blemish was a 3-0 (18-25, 22-25, 20-25) loss at Middle Tennessee. WKU dropped a 3-1 decision (25-21, 20-25, 21-25, 24-26) to No. 23 Cincinnati on Tuesday. Reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week Tiffany Elmore leads WKU with 2.88 kills per set and 1.01 blocks per set.
Louisiana will face defending Sun Belt Champion Middle Tennessee (18-5, 9-1 Sun Belt) on Saturday. The Blue Raiders split last weekend, falling 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 19-25) at FIU then rebounding with a 3-1 victory (27-29, 25-21, 25-13, 25-21) at Florida Atlantic. Izabela Kozon leads the squad with 317 kills for a league-best average of 4.12 kills per set.
Live stats and video of this weekend's matches will be available online at RaginCajuns.com.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
