Cajuns Head to Texas for Sun Belt Opening Weekend

Ragin' Cajuns Head to Texas for Sun Belt Opening Weekend
Friday, Sept. 18, 2015 at UT Arlington | 6:30 p.m. | Arlington, Texas
Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015 at Texas State | 12 p.m. | San Marcos, Texas

Match 12: Louisiana (3-8, 0-0 SBC) at UT Arlington (9-3, 0-0 SBC)
Friday, Sept. 18 • 6:30 p.m. (CDT) • College Park Center (7,000) • Arlington, Texas
Series: UT Arlington leads 11-1
Last Meeting: 11/14/14 at Earl K. Long Gym – Louisiana W, 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-16)
Video ($$) | Live Stats

Match 13: Louisiana (3-8, 0-0 SBC) at Texas State (5-7, 0-0 SBC)
Sunday, Sept. 20 • 12 p.m. (CDT) • Strahan Coliseum (7,200) • San Marcos, Texas
Series: Texas State leads 8-0
Last Meeting: 10/31/14 at Earl K. Long Gym – Texas State W, 3-2 (25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 13-25, 15-12)
Video ($$) | Live Stats

Weekly Release (PDF)
Rosters: Louisiana | UT Arlington | Texas State
Schedules: Louisiana | UT Arlington | Texas State
Season Stats: Louisiana | UT Arlington | Texas State
Ragin' Cajuns Twitter: @UL_Volleyball
Opponents Twitter: @UTAVolleyball | @TexasStateVball

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team faces UT Arlington on Friday, Sept. 18 at 6:30 p.m., in the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, in the first of two Sun Belt Conference matches during the opening weekend of league play.

Following Friday's match with UTA, the Ragin' Cajuns (3-8, 0-0 Sun Belt) wrap up the weekend on Sunday, Sept. 20 in San Marcos, Texas, taking on Texas State at Noon.

Louisiana is set to begin its 25th season of competition in the Sun Belt Conference. The Ragin' Cajuns finished sixth in the standings a year ago with a 9-11 record in SBC matches.

The Cajuns have battled injuries throughout the season's first three weeks, which has hindered results. Sara Mossakowski, Stacey Reilly, McKenzie John, Chloe Cordell and Danni Duck have all missed matches. Mossakowski, who has a lingering back injury, missed the Adidas Rice Invitational last weekend and the Cajuns offense missed her presence.

Mossakowski, the team's returning and present leader in kills, is expected to return this weekend. Prior to missing last weekend's tournament at Rice, the senior outside hitter had produced nine-plus kills in four straight outings.

Reilly is back on the front row, debuting last weekend at Rice, after being limited to back row duties since her season debut Sept. 5 vs. Houston. The Houston native produced 28 kills over nine sets and hit .232 during the Adidas Rice Invitational.

Reilly's return to the front row will add another dimension to the Ragin' Cajuns offense the remainder of the season.

"She (Reilly) will single-handedly drive our competitive spirit on the court," head coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot said. "It's great to have her back."

The Cajuns' offense is led by Mossakowski (2.76 kills/set) and Chanelle Gardner (2.44 kills/set) who average a combined 5.20 kills per set.

Gardner needs five more blocks to join the program's rally scoring era career Top 5 list. Her 35 blocks this season lead the charge for a Cajuns unit that has generated at least five blocks in eight straight matches.

Louisiana seeks to halt a three-match losing streak that began last weekend at the Adidas Rice Invitational where Rice, Colorado and Sam Houston State swept the Cajuns in straight sets.

In matches that Mossakowski has played this season, the Ragin' Cajuns have averaged 11.75 kills per set and posted a .223 attack percentage.

UTA (9-3, 0-0 Sun Belt) is coming off of an impressive week, going 3-1 with wins over Abilene Christian, Southeast Missouri and Northwestern State. UTA showed its dominance at the net in the four matches, out-blocking its opponents by 0.5 blocks per set. Setting the tone was freshman middle blocker Marisah Ingram who recorded a team-high 1.38 blocks per set.

Texas State (5-7, 0-0 Sun Belt) hosts Georgia State on Friday before the Ragin' Cajuns visit Strahan Coliseum on Sunday. Jordan Kohl leads the offensive attack with 100 kills on the season so far. But, as usual, the Bobcats run a balanced offense with four other players posting 56 kills or more.

After the weekend's matches, the Ragin' Cajuns return to Earl K. Long Gym for the Sun Belt home opener on Friday, Sept. 25 vs. ULM.

NOTEWORTHY
SEIZING THE OPPORTUNITY: Senior Katey Kyle, a junior college transfer, has taken advantage of increased playing time this season. The Pearland, Texas, native has thrown down at least eight kills in five of the past eight outings. Kyle is averaging 1.81 kills and 2.00 points per set and is hitting .158.

HIGH SCHOOL TEAMMATES REUNITE: Louisiana's Sydney Davis and Hanna Rovira and Texas State's Madison Daigle were on the same side of the court the past three years at St. Joseph's Academy in Baton Rouge. On Sunday in San Marcos, Texas, they'll be on opposite sides of the court competing against one another on the collegiate level.

FRESHMAN IMPACT: Injuries have brought some of the Cajuns freshmen into the spotlight, and they've performed well. Sydney Davis averages 3.44 digs per set and has claimed the libero jersey. Julia Pasch ranks third on the squad with 17 blocks (1 BS, 16 BA). Hanna Rovira posted a school-record .900 hitting percentage (9 K, 0 E, 10 TA) last Tuesday vs. Southern.

BACK ON THE FLOOR: Chloe Cordell, expected to be a part of the rotation this season, returned to action last weekend at the Adidas Rice Invitational after missing the previous four matches with an injury. Cordell played on Saturday against Colorado and Sam Houston State and produced 11 kills on 35 swings while hitting .229.

LOOKING FOR A BREAKTHROUGH: The Ragin' Cajuns seek their first win at the College Park Center (UTA) and Strahan Coliseum (Texas State). Louisiana is a combined 0-4 in the facilities since the Mavericks and Bobcats joined the Sun Belt Conference.

SELECT COMPANY: At 240 career blocks, Chanelle Gardner is just five blocks shy of reaching the rally scoring era career Top 5. The group includes: Kim Rodgers (396), Mandi Gavin (290), Lesley Mirarchi (280) and Elizabeth Inman/Stacy Liverett (245).

SEVENTH HEAVEN: Sara Mossakowski is steadily approaching 700 career kills, entering this week with 670. She needs 185 more kills this season to reach the rally scoring era Top 5 list.

CLOSER TO SECOND: Head coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot is six wins shy of sole possession of second place on the program's victories list. Her 106 wins have her chasing Sherry LeBas (111) for second, then Wilo Colon (136) for the lead.

UT ARLINGTON SERIES NOTABLES: UTA leads the all-time series 11-1 (3-1 in SBC play)…Louisiana's 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-16) win last season on Nov. 14 at Earl K. Long Gym was the program's first-ever victory over the Mavericks...The Cajuns and Mavericks were foes in the Southland Conference from 1982-86...UTA won all four matchups in the SLC era (1982 tournament, 1984-86 regular season).

TEXAS STATE SERIES NOTABLES: Texas State holds an 8-0 edge in all-time meetings…Cajuns were the Bobcats' opponent for their first-ever Sun Belt Tournament match on Nov. 21, 2013 in Troy…Programs have met six times since 2011...The five-set match at Earl K. Long Gym last season on Oct. 31, snapped a string of three consecutive sweeps by Texas State in regular season Sun Belt play.

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Players Mentioned

Chloe Cordell

Sydney Davis

Danni Duck

Chanelle Gardner

McKenzie John

Katey Kyle

Sara Mossakowski

Julia Pasch

Stacey Reilly

Hanna Rovira