University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
11-17, 3-9SBC
UALR
10-16, 5-7SBC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 13 | 39 | 25 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
| UALR | 25 | 37 | 27 | 14 | 8 | 2 |
Louisiana Takes Down UALR in Five Sets in Road Finale
10/30/2011 6:30:00 PM | Volleyball
Louisiana (11-17, 3-9 Sun Belt) fought off 29 ties and 10 lead changes to claim a 39-37 victory in the second set and avoid a 2-0 deficit in the match. The Cajuns then posted decisive victories in the fourth and fifth sets by counts of 25-14 and 15-8 to claim the match over the Trojans (10-16, 5-7 Sun Belt).
With the win the Cajuns pulled within 1-1/2 games of North Texas (14-15, 5-8 Sun Belt) for the eighth and final spot in the upcoming SBC Tournament. Louisiana has homecourt advantage coming down the stretch as the season's final four matches are scheduled for Earl K. Long Gym including a meeting with UALR in the season finale.
The Cajuns hit .342 in the fourth set and never trailed on the way to forcing the decisive fifth set. UL took control after a kill by Lavinia Tataran broke a 2-all tie and points on the next four rallies stretched the advantage to 7-2.
UALR closed within four points, 13-9, with an Alexis Hein kill. UL delivered the final blow as a Tonice White kill jumpstarted a 4-0 run that increased the lead to 17-9.
In the fifth set the Cajuns parlayed a 10-4 advantage in kills into a match-clinching victory. The squad broke a 7-all tie when a Kerrliyn Lazare kill sparked a 7-0 run that vaulted UL into a 14-7 lead. After a kill by Eva Xie stopped the scoring spree, Lesley Mirarchi scored on a kill to win the set and match.
Four different Cajuns reached double figures in kills leading the squad to 72 total for the match (14.4 kills per set).
Mirarchi led the way with 16, tying her season-high and moving her over 900 kills in her career. The senior from Plano, Texas, is just 22 kills away from equaling Elizabeth Inman's rally scoring era standard of 927 kills and has at least four matches remaining to do so.
Taratan and White each posted 15 kills and the fourth member of the quarter was Lazare who finished with 12 kills on 24 attempts at a .417 clip.
Freshman Caitlin Auxilien's season-high 27 digs led all players in the match. The tally upped her season total to 252 digs, leaving her 48 shy of 300 in her rookie campaign.
Edina Begic led the Trojans with 31 kills and recorded her 11th double-double of the season with a team-high of 22 digs. Xie recorded 12 kills, while Paige Gantar knocked down 11. Emily Pepperman contributed 21 digs for the match.
UALR hit .611 and accrued 13 kills on just 18 attempts in the opening set victory. With the score tied at six, the Trojans recorded three-straight points to take the lead and sustain it. Leading 12-8, the Trojans put the Cajuns away with an 8-2 run that moved the advantage into double figures.
Tied at 37-all in the second set, kills from White and Blair Claypoole helped the Cajuns avoid falling behind 2-0 in the match.
Set three also went past 25 points as the scored was tied five times past 20. A UALR service error tied the score at 25, before a back-to-back UL attack errors gave the Trojans the 27-25 set win.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
