University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Friday, October 5
Miami, Fla.
5:30 PM
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
10-10, 2-3Sun Belt
3
at
1
FIU
5-13, 2-4Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
F
Louisiana
25
12
25
25
3
FIU
13
25
17
19
1
Cajuns Offense Carries More Weight Than Panthers Block
10/5/2012 10:13:00 PM | Volleyball
| Box Score (PDF)
Contact: Matt Hebert
MIAMI – The Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team overpowered FIU offensively to offset the Panthers blocking at the net and as a result left U.S. Century Bank Arena with a 3-1 (25-13, 12-25, 25-17, 25-19) win here Friday evening.
Louisiana (10-10, 2-3 Sun Belt) used a 51-32 advantage in kills and limited the Panthers (5-13, 2-4 Sun Belt) to a .047 hitting percentage to bring an end to a three-match losing streak.
The sizeable advantage in kills helped UL overcome the 16 blocks that FIU was able to execute.
Louisiana rode the balanced attack of three hitters in double figure kills led by Lavinia Tataran's team-best 13 kills and .250 hitting percentage. Andrea Hole needed only 21 swings to produce her 11 kills and Kelly Wiesmann added 10 kills on 22 attacks.
FIU received a match-high 16 kills from Marija Prsa. However, no other Panthers attacker reached more than six kills.
The Ragin' Cajuns defeated FIU for the second straight season and in the final meeting as Sun Belt foes (FIU leaves for Conference USA in 2013). UL broke an 8-all series tie with the triumph in Miami, and posted the program's first win on FIU's home court since 2001.
“The girls played with a lot of heart tonight,” head coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot. “They stayed patient against a much bigger FIU team and didn't panic when the second went went so poorly.
“We are finding our way every day with this group. This was a great win for us.”
On Saturday, Louisiana travels an hour north on Interstate 95 to meet Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton. The contest, which wraps up the Florida road swing, is set to start at 5:30 p.m. (CDT) at FAU Arena.
Mandi Gavin continued her MVP style of play for the Cajuns, netting eight kills on only 14 attempts, dishing out 30 assists and scooping up nine digs. Gavin lowered her total needed to 3,000 career assists to 132.
The Cajuns defense was the story of the evening. UL still had a high number of attack errors (27), but the defense limited FIU to a hitting percentage below .065 in all three set victories.
The victory signaled the Cajuns 10th of the 2012 season and gives UL double digit wins for a third straight seasons. The last time UL collected double figure wins in three straight seasons was 2000-02.
The squads traded sizzling hitting percentages and abysmal percentages in splitting the opening two sets. The Cajuns hit .261 and held a 17-6 edge in kills in a 25-13 triumph in set one. In the second set, the Cajuns hit -.071 and mustered only seven kills in a 25-12 defeat.
In set three, the Panthers grabbed an early lead before the Ragin' Cajuns rattled off 10 straight points to steal the momentum and go ahead, 15-9. FIU crept within four points, 15-11, but Louisiana rebuilt a comfortable margin with a Gavin kill and a FIU attack error.
The Cajuns put away the third set and took a 2-1 lead in the match when a Gavin kill, Blair Claypoole block solo and Gloria Levorin attack error pushed the visitors lead to 20-12.
Louisiana coasted in the fourth set, with the lead changing only once and there being only three ties.
The Ragin' Cajuns held a 21-16 advantage in set four, and the Panthers made a late push with back-to-back points to get to within three at 21-18. Following a timeout, the Ragin' Cajuns got both points back, going ahead by five at 23-18.
Prsa put one more point on the board for FIU, bringing up a 23-19 score. UL tallied the final two points of the set – Gavin kill and Tonice White block solo – to come away with a 25-19 set win and a 3-1 match victory.
Louisiana improved to 2-1 on the road in Sun Belt action with the triumph. The .047 hitting percentage the squad held the Panthers to was the lowest for an opponent since Texas Southern hit -.041 on Aug. 25 at the Sam Houston State Invitational.
Contact: Matt Hebert
MIAMI – The Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team overpowered FIU offensively to offset the Panthers blocking at the net and as a result left U.S. Century Bank Arena with a 3-1 (25-13, 12-25, 25-17, 25-19) win here Friday evening.
Louisiana (10-10, 2-3 Sun Belt) used a 51-32 advantage in kills and limited the Panthers (5-13, 2-4 Sun Belt) to a .047 hitting percentage to bring an end to a three-match losing streak.
The sizeable advantage in kills helped UL overcome the 16 blocks that FIU was able to execute.
Louisiana rode the balanced attack of three hitters in double figure kills led by Lavinia Tataran's team-best 13 kills and .250 hitting percentage. Andrea Hole needed only 21 swings to produce her 11 kills and Kelly Wiesmann added 10 kills on 22 attacks.
FIU received a match-high 16 kills from Marija Prsa. However, no other Panthers attacker reached more than six kills.
The Ragin' Cajuns defeated FIU for the second straight season and in the final meeting as Sun Belt foes (FIU leaves for Conference USA in 2013). UL broke an 8-all series tie with the triumph in Miami, and posted the program's first win on FIU's home court since 2001.
“The girls played with a lot of heart tonight,” head coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot. “They stayed patient against a much bigger FIU team and didn't panic when the second went went so poorly.
“We are finding our way every day with this group. This was a great win for us.”
On Saturday, Louisiana travels an hour north on Interstate 95 to meet Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton. The contest, which wraps up the Florida road swing, is set to start at 5:30 p.m. (CDT) at FAU Arena.
Mandi Gavin continued her MVP style of play for the Cajuns, netting eight kills on only 14 attempts, dishing out 30 assists and scooping up nine digs. Gavin lowered her total needed to 3,000 career assists to 132.
The Cajuns defense was the story of the evening. UL still had a high number of attack errors (27), but the defense limited FIU to a hitting percentage below .065 in all three set victories.
The victory signaled the Cajuns 10th of the 2012 season and gives UL double digit wins for a third straight seasons. The last time UL collected double figure wins in three straight seasons was 2000-02.
The squads traded sizzling hitting percentages and abysmal percentages in splitting the opening two sets. The Cajuns hit .261 and held a 17-6 edge in kills in a 25-13 triumph in set one. In the second set, the Cajuns hit -.071 and mustered only seven kills in a 25-12 defeat.
In set three, the Panthers grabbed an early lead before the Ragin' Cajuns rattled off 10 straight points to steal the momentum and go ahead, 15-9. FIU crept within four points, 15-11, but Louisiana rebuilt a comfortable margin with a Gavin kill and a FIU attack error.
The Cajuns put away the third set and took a 2-1 lead in the match when a Gavin kill, Blair Claypoole block solo and Gloria Levorin attack error pushed the visitors lead to 20-12.
Louisiana coasted in the fourth set, with the lead changing only once and there being only three ties.
The Ragin' Cajuns held a 21-16 advantage in set four, and the Panthers made a late push with back-to-back points to get to within three at 21-18. Following a timeout, the Ragin' Cajuns got both points back, going ahead by five at 23-18.
Prsa put one more point on the board for FIU, bringing up a 23-19 score. UL tallied the final two points of the set – Gavin kill and Tonice White block solo – to come away with a 25-19 set win and a 3-1 match victory.
Louisiana improved to 2-1 on the road in Sun Belt action with the triumph. The .047 hitting percentage the squad held the Panthers to was the lowest for an opponent since Texas Southern hit -.041 on Aug. 25 at the Sam Houston State Invitational.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
Team Stats
UL
FIU
Kills
51
32
Errors
27
26
Attempts
142
127
Hitting %
.169
.047
Points
62.0
51.0
Assists
42
31
Aces
3
3
Blocks
8.0
16.0
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
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