University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Sunday, October 28
Earl K. Long Gym
1:00 PM
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
15-13, 6-6Sun Belt
2
vs
3
North Texas
20-10, 6-5Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
5
F
North Texas
23
25
17
25
15
3
Louisiana
25
18
25
20
11
2
North Texas Lands a Second Five-Set Thriller Over Louisiana
10/28/2012 5:08:00 PM | Volleyball
| Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery
Contact: Matt Hebert
LAFAYETTE – The Ragin' Cajuns and Mean Green volleyball teams proved for a second time this season that there's not much that separates the two squads.
In a well-played and contested outing Sunday afternoon on Senior Day for Blair Claypoole and Mandi Gavin at Earl K. Long Gym the stats line was equal on both sides. And for the second time, the teams entertained the crowd with a five-set thriller.
The Mean Green (20-10, 6-5 Sun Belt) were fortunate enough to stage a 9-3 rally in the second half of the decisive fifth frame to take the match 3-2 (23-25, 25-18, 17-25, 25-20, 15-11). The Ragin' Cajuns (15-13, 6-6 Sun Belt) lost for only the 10th time in the last 35 matches at Earl K. Long Gym.
Louisiana dialed up the defensive pressure and forced North Texas to hit -.088 in the third set to open a 2-1 lead. The Ragin' Cajuns threw up seven blocks and held a 13-7 edge in kills.
NT stayed away from the Cajuns block and Carnae Dillard, who registered a match-high 18 kills despite hitting a meager .098, changed the tide in the fourth set. After a Courtney Windham kill upped NT's lead to 16-14, Dillard served up five consecutive points to extend the lead to 21-14 and put the visitors in a position to force a fifth set.
The fifth set featured a pair of lead changes before the team's switched ends of the court, with the Ragin' Cajuns making a 4-0 push to lay claim to an 8-6 lead. The Cajuns broke Dillard's serve, forced back-to-back attack errors and capped off the run with a Lavinia Tataran ace.
UL appeared to have executed the final momentum shift in a match that saw 32 ties and 12 lead changes – eight ties in the fifth set alone. But, the Mean Green countered with three straight points following a Tonice White attack error and kills on consecutive rallies.
A deadlock would ensue twice over the next three rallies until the Mean Green broke the hold after a Blair Claypoole attack error. Leading 11-10, the Mean Green went to Dillard three straight rallies and the result was three kills that created a 14-10 advantage.
An Andrea Hole kill broke the Mean Green run, but Dillard would land the set-and match-winner on the next serve as North Texas completed the season sweep of Louisiana.
Back on Sept. 22, the two teams played a five-setter in Denton, Texas that saw the Mean Green rally from down 2-1 for the victory.
Like the Sept. 22 meeting, if one viewed the stat sheet without looking at the team names it would be hard to decipher which team was which. The squads were even in kills (63-63), NT had two more assists (59-57), UL had a half block more (12.5-12.0) and the Cajuns held a slim 77.5-76.0 edge in points.
NT was able to out-dig UL by nearly 20, scooping up 81 digs compared to the Cajuns' 63. Five Mean Green players accrued double digit digs led by Shelby Tamura (21) and May Allen (20) with 20-plus.
Louisiana was unable to rediscover the defensive prowess from the third set that held NT to a negative hitting percentage. In the fourth and fifth set, NT hit .344 and .217, respectively.
The loss drops the Cajuns to 1-1/2 games behind the winner of Sunday afternoon's UALR-Arkansas State match in Jonesboro. Louisiana controls its own destiny as next weekend the squad travels to meet Arkansas State on Friday, Nov. 2 and UALR on Saturday, Nov. 4. In both matches, the Cajuns have the opportunity to complete season sweeps and lock up head-to-head tiebreakers.l
The Ragin' Cajuns exit the weekend tied with Middle Tennessee (6-6 SBC) for the No. 7 seed in the SBC Tournament picture. UL sits two games ahead of FIU (4-8) for the final spot in the Sun Belt's postseason tournament and trails Troy by only 2-1/2 games for the No. 2 seed.
Claypoole and White topped the Cajuns in kills with 14 apiece. Andrea Hole joined them in double figures with 11 and landed a double-double by chipping in a team-best 17 digs.
Mandi Gavin nearly missed a triple-double as the senior setter continued to do it all for UL with nine kills (18 attempts), 45 assists, 13 digs and four block assists. Gavin did pick up her ninth double-double of the season and moved within four assists of reaching 1,000 in a season for the second time in her career (presently at 996).
Gavin's performance did move her past Lisa Bordes (3,171 assists) into third place in school history for career assists. Gavin has 3,180 career assists heading into the season's final three matches.
Libero Caitlyn Auxilien posted double digits in digs for the 23rd time this season, finishing with 14.
Both Hole and White climbed above 200 season kills with their totals in the match. For Hole, it's the first time in her career with 200-plus kills while White surpassed 200 for the second straight season (276 in 2011).
Both teams spread the offense evenly amongst the roster. Louisiana saw six different players reach five kills while North Texas saw five different players post seven kills including four in double digits.
NT finished with a .230-.182 edge in hitting percentage which offset the Cajuns ability to reach double digits in kills in each of the first four sets.
The opening set saw the Cajuns rally twice from a deficit, the last time occurring after scoring three straight points after facing a 15-14 deficit. Kills from Gavin and Kelly Wiesmann plus a block thrown up by Hole and Claypoole vaulted UL into a 17-15 lead.
Louisiana held on to the lead on the strength of a 73 percent success rate on sideouts in the opener. The last sideout came at 23-all when White landed a kill for a 24-23 lead. Eboni Godfrey's attack attempt on the ensuing rally sailed long over the endline and put UL up 1-0.
The Mean Green countered with a second set victory that was keyed by a 7-2 run following a Tatran kill that forged a 9-all tie. Back-to-back kills by Godfrey and a block thrown up with Karissa Flack pushed NT in front 12-9. After the Cajuns cut the lead to 18-15, NT scored seven of the final 10 points getting five kills and a pair of UL attack errors along the way.
SET POINTS: The Ragin' Cajuns and Mean Green played 10 sets in the season's two meetings combined…The two matchups featured a combined 80 ties and 36 lead changes…UL posted a 139-135 edge in kills in the season series with the Mean Green…Blair Claypoole reached double digits in kills for the sixth straight match and 11th time in 2012…During the streak, Claypoole is averaging 3.05 kills per set and hitting .304…As a team, Louisiana reached 60 kills for the third time in the last four outings…Louisiana out-performed the Sun Belt's second-leading blocking team, finishing with a 12.5-12.0 edge in blocks…Sunday's match marked the final meeting between Louisiana and North Texas as conference foes as the Mean Green move to Conference USA in 2013…UL played its final home conference match of the 2012 season, closing out the year with a 3-3 mark at Earl K. Long Gym in Sun Belt action…Dating back to 2010, the Ragin' Cajuns have posted 46 wins which equals the most recent best three-year run for victories that was recorded by Chris Campbell's squads from 1999-2001…With Tonice White and Andrea Hole moving over 200 kills for the season, UL now has five players with 200-plus kills…Lavinia Tataran is 22 kills shy of joining Lesley Mirarchi (364 in 2010 and 302 in 2011) as the most recent Cajuns to notch 300 kills in a season.
Contact: Matt Hebert
LAFAYETTE – The Ragin' Cajuns and Mean Green volleyball teams proved for a second time this season that there's not much that separates the two squads.
In a well-played and contested outing Sunday afternoon on Senior Day for Blair Claypoole and Mandi Gavin at Earl K. Long Gym the stats line was equal on both sides. And for the second time, the teams entertained the crowd with a five-set thriller.
The Mean Green (20-10, 6-5 Sun Belt) were fortunate enough to stage a 9-3 rally in the second half of the decisive fifth frame to take the match 3-2 (23-25, 25-18, 17-25, 25-20, 15-11). The Ragin' Cajuns (15-13, 6-6 Sun Belt) lost for only the 10th time in the last 35 matches at Earl K. Long Gym.
Louisiana dialed up the defensive pressure and forced North Texas to hit -.088 in the third set to open a 2-1 lead. The Ragin' Cajuns threw up seven blocks and held a 13-7 edge in kills.
NT stayed away from the Cajuns block and Carnae Dillard, who registered a match-high 18 kills despite hitting a meager .098, changed the tide in the fourth set. After a Courtney Windham kill upped NT's lead to 16-14, Dillard served up five consecutive points to extend the lead to 21-14 and put the visitors in a position to force a fifth set.
The fifth set featured a pair of lead changes before the team's switched ends of the court, with the Ragin' Cajuns making a 4-0 push to lay claim to an 8-6 lead. The Cajuns broke Dillard's serve, forced back-to-back attack errors and capped off the run with a Lavinia Tataran ace.
UL appeared to have executed the final momentum shift in a match that saw 32 ties and 12 lead changes – eight ties in the fifth set alone. But, the Mean Green countered with three straight points following a Tonice White attack error and kills on consecutive rallies.
A deadlock would ensue twice over the next three rallies until the Mean Green broke the hold after a Blair Claypoole attack error. Leading 11-10, the Mean Green went to Dillard three straight rallies and the result was three kills that created a 14-10 advantage.
An Andrea Hole kill broke the Mean Green run, but Dillard would land the set-and match-winner on the next serve as North Texas completed the season sweep of Louisiana.
Back on Sept. 22, the two teams played a five-setter in Denton, Texas that saw the Mean Green rally from down 2-1 for the victory.
Like the Sept. 22 meeting, if one viewed the stat sheet without looking at the team names it would be hard to decipher which team was which. The squads were even in kills (63-63), NT had two more assists (59-57), UL had a half block more (12.5-12.0) and the Cajuns held a slim 77.5-76.0 edge in points.
NT was able to out-dig UL by nearly 20, scooping up 81 digs compared to the Cajuns' 63. Five Mean Green players accrued double digit digs led by Shelby Tamura (21) and May Allen (20) with 20-plus.
Louisiana was unable to rediscover the defensive prowess from the third set that held NT to a negative hitting percentage. In the fourth and fifth set, NT hit .344 and .217, respectively.
The loss drops the Cajuns to 1-1/2 games behind the winner of Sunday afternoon's UALR-Arkansas State match in Jonesboro. Louisiana controls its own destiny as next weekend the squad travels to meet Arkansas State on Friday, Nov. 2 and UALR on Saturday, Nov. 4. In both matches, the Cajuns have the opportunity to complete season sweeps and lock up head-to-head tiebreakers.l
The Ragin' Cajuns exit the weekend tied with Middle Tennessee (6-6 SBC) for the No. 7 seed in the SBC Tournament picture. UL sits two games ahead of FIU (4-8) for the final spot in the Sun Belt's postseason tournament and trails Troy by only 2-1/2 games for the No. 2 seed.
Claypoole and White topped the Cajuns in kills with 14 apiece. Andrea Hole joined them in double figures with 11 and landed a double-double by chipping in a team-best 17 digs.
Mandi Gavin nearly missed a triple-double as the senior setter continued to do it all for UL with nine kills (18 attempts), 45 assists, 13 digs and four block assists. Gavin did pick up her ninth double-double of the season and moved within four assists of reaching 1,000 in a season for the second time in her career (presently at 996).
Gavin's performance did move her past Lisa Bordes (3,171 assists) into third place in school history for career assists. Gavin has 3,180 career assists heading into the season's final three matches.
Libero Caitlyn Auxilien posted double digits in digs for the 23rd time this season, finishing with 14.
Both Hole and White climbed above 200 season kills with their totals in the match. For Hole, it's the first time in her career with 200-plus kills while White surpassed 200 for the second straight season (276 in 2011).
Both teams spread the offense evenly amongst the roster. Louisiana saw six different players reach five kills while North Texas saw five different players post seven kills including four in double digits.
NT finished with a .230-.182 edge in hitting percentage which offset the Cajuns ability to reach double digits in kills in each of the first four sets.
The opening set saw the Cajuns rally twice from a deficit, the last time occurring after scoring three straight points after facing a 15-14 deficit. Kills from Gavin and Kelly Wiesmann plus a block thrown up by Hole and Claypoole vaulted UL into a 17-15 lead.
Louisiana held on to the lead on the strength of a 73 percent success rate on sideouts in the opener. The last sideout came at 23-all when White landed a kill for a 24-23 lead. Eboni Godfrey's attack attempt on the ensuing rally sailed long over the endline and put UL up 1-0.
The Mean Green countered with a second set victory that was keyed by a 7-2 run following a Tatran kill that forged a 9-all tie. Back-to-back kills by Godfrey and a block thrown up with Karissa Flack pushed NT in front 12-9. After the Cajuns cut the lead to 18-15, NT scored seven of the final 10 points getting five kills and a pair of UL attack errors along the way.
SET POINTS: The Ragin' Cajuns and Mean Green played 10 sets in the season's two meetings combined…The two matchups featured a combined 80 ties and 36 lead changes…UL posted a 139-135 edge in kills in the season series with the Mean Green…Blair Claypoole reached double digits in kills for the sixth straight match and 11th time in 2012…During the streak, Claypoole is averaging 3.05 kills per set and hitting .304…As a team, Louisiana reached 60 kills for the third time in the last four outings…Louisiana out-performed the Sun Belt's second-leading blocking team, finishing with a 12.5-12.0 edge in blocks…Sunday's match marked the final meeting between Louisiana and North Texas as conference foes as the Mean Green move to Conference USA in 2013…UL played its final home conference match of the 2012 season, closing out the year with a 3-3 mark at Earl K. Long Gym in Sun Belt action…Dating back to 2010, the Ragin' Cajuns have posted 46 wins which equals the most recent best three-year run for victories that was recorded by Chris Campbell's squads from 1999-2001…With Tonice White and Andrea Hole moving over 200 kills for the season, UL now has five players with 200-plus kills…Lavinia Tataran is 22 kills shy of joining Lesley Mirarchi (364 in 2010 and 302 in 2011) as the most recent Cajuns to notch 300 kills in a season.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
Team Stats
NT
UL
Kills
63
63
Errors
25
29
Attempts
165
187
Hitting %
.230
.182
Points
76.0
77.5
Assists
59
57
Aces
1
2
Blocks
12.0
12.5
Game Leaders
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
4
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