Cajuns Set For Non-Conference Tilt at Southeastern

Cajuns Set For Non-Conference Tilt at Southeastern
Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015 at Southeastern Louisiana | 7 p.m. | Hammond, La.

Match 15: Louisiana (3-11) at Southeastern Louisiana (7-8)
Tuesday, Sept. 29 • 7 p.m. (CDT) • University Center (7,500) • Hammond, La.
Series: Louisiana leads 43-15
Last Meeting: 9/20/11 in Hammond, La. – Louisiana W, 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-21)
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Rosters: Louisiana | Southeastern Louisiana
Schedules: Louisiana | Southeastern Louisiana
Season Stats: Louisiana | Southeastern Louisiana
Ragin' Cajuns Twitter: @UL_Volleyball
Opponents Twitter: @SLUAthletics

HAMMOND – In the first matchup between the two volleyball programs since 2011, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns and Southeastern Louisiana Lions face off in a non-conference match at the University Center in Hammond, La., on Tuesday, Sept. 29. First serve is set for 7 p.m.

The Ragin' Cajuns (3-11) are coming off their best back-to-back outings, in terms of hitting percentage, in three weeks. Louisiana hit .223 in a five-set battle with ULM last Friday, the effort following up a .176 showing at Texas State.

"It's finding that balance between smart shots, versus aggressively smart shots, versus ones that don't make sense," head coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot said. "We're getting much better and added to that Chanelle (Gardner) has found her connection with Jess (Bartczyszyn), which is really good to see."

The connection between Chanelle Gardner and Jessica Bartczyszyn was strong vs. ULM as evidenced by a career-high 20 kills on just 31 swings and a .548 hitting percentage from Gardner.

Gardner's big night vaulted her into the team lead at 2.60 kills per set. Senior Sara Mossakowski backs her up with 2.50 kills per set followed by Katey Kyle at 1.80 kills per set and Stacey Reilly at 1.78 kills per set.

The Cajuns' rotation has expanded to include Acadiana High product Nia Antoine. The freshman middle blocker has produced 15 kills, on 32 swings, to a tune of a .406 hitting percentage in an increased role the past two outings.

Mossakowski and Reilly continue to progress since returning from injury. Their continued presence on the court is helping the Cajuns build a consistent lineup, which was missing the season's first three weeks.

"We showed some grit on Friday (vs. ULM)," Mazeitis-Fontenot said. "It gave me some exciting thoughts about where we are, going forward. Based on what I saw us do on Friday night, and the fact that we're getting better every time we step on the court for practice and matches, is exciting."

Southeastern Louisiana (7-8) is coming off a four-set victory at Houston Baptist on Saturday. The result gave the Lions a split of a Southland Conference-opening road trip (lost at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday).

Landry Bullock (2.78 kills per set), Tiffany Thomas (2.17 kills/set), Sarah Friedman (2.03 kills/set) and Parrie Hartley (1.87 kills/set) pace the Lions' offense this season under the direction of setters Mikayla Shippy (5.70 a/set) and Haley Baker (5.26 assists per set).

Louisiana seeks to halt a season-high, six-match losing streak. SLU is 1-1 at the University Center this season, the win coming over Sun Belt-member Troy back on Sept. 7.

The Cajuns posted a 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-21) win over the Lions in the last meeting back on Sept. 20, 2011 in Hammond.

Tuesday's match begins a string of six matches over the next two weeks for the Cajuns. Louisiana returns to Earl K. Long Gym this weekend to face Arkansas State on Friday and Appalachian State on Saturday, then visits ULM (Oct. 7), South Alabama (Oct. 9) and Troy (Oct. 10) on a three-match road swing next week.

NOTEWORTHY
SUPER CHANELLE: St. Martinville product Chanelle Gardner tallied a career-high 20 kills last Friday vs. ULM. She did so on a .548 hitting percentage, a personal career-best for a match with 12 kills. Friday's effort pushed her into the team lead at 2.60 kills per set.

SELECT COMPANY: Chanelle Gardner's five blocks last Friday vs. ULM pushed her career total to 245 which places her into 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 693. She needs 162 more kills this season to reach the rally scoring era Top 5 list.

NIFTY NIA: Freshman Nia Antoine (Lafayette, La./Acadiana HS) has been part of the rotation the past two matches and has delivered. She's thrown down 15 kills, on just 32 swings, to the tune of a .406 hitting percentage.

DAVIS DIGGIN' IT: Freshman Sydney Davis notched a season-high 24 digs on Friday vs. ULM. It marked her first match of 20-plus digs and ninth double-digit effort of the season.

HOME COOKING: The Cajuns continued their strong play at Earl K. Long Gym, hitting .223 vs. ULM last Friday. That effort matched the team's percentage on their home floor entering the match.

BUILDING MOMENTUM: Not only did Louisiana record a season-high 59 kills vs. ULM, but also increased its hitting percentage for the second straight match. Hitting .176 at Texas State and .223 vs. ULM marked the best back-to-back percentages since Sept. 4-5 vs. Jackson State/Nicholls State.

FRESHMAN IMPACT: Sydney Davis averages 3.45 digs per set and has claimed the libero jersey. Julia Pasch ranks third on the squad with 20 blocks (1 BS, 19 BA). Hanna Rovira posted a school-record .900 hitting percentage (9 K, 0 E, 10 TA) vs. Southern. Nia Antoine is hitting .406 and averaging nearly two kills per set the past two outings.

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.

SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA SERIES NOTABLES: Ragin' Cajuns lead all-time series 43-15…SLU holds a 10-9 edge in matches played at the University Center in Hammond…Louisiana has won the last two meetings, and four of the past five meetings…The Cajuns are 2-1 vs. SLU with Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot…Seventh meeting since 2000…From 1976-99, the programs met every season except 1991.

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Players Mentioned

Nia Antoine

Jessica Bartczyszyn

Sydney Davis

Chanelle Gardner

Katey Kyle

Sara Mossakowski

Julia Pasch

Stacey Reilly

Hanna Rovira