Ragin' Cajuns Set to Complete Homestand This Weekend

LAFAYETTE – Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball seeks to build upon a 2-0 start to its current four-match homestand as the Sun Belt Conference's Arkansas schools visit Earl K. Long Gym this weekend.

The Ragin' Cajuns (7-13, 3-2 Sun Belt) face reigning Sun Belt champion Arkansas State (13-7, 5-1 Sun Belt) at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, then close out the weekend hosting Little Rock (6-13, 2-4 Sun Belt) at Noon on Sunday.

Friday's match serves as the annual Dig Pink match. Fans are asked to wear pink to help raise awareness for breast cancer.

The weekend contests serve as rematches, as Louisiana faces the Red Wolves and Trojans for the second time in two weeks. The Ragin' Cajuns made the Arkansas road trip Sept. 30-Oct. 1, winning a heart stopper in Little Rock in five sets and falling in three sets in Jonesboro.

Last week, the Ragin' Cajuns opened the four-match homestand with a straight sets sweep of Southeastern Louisiana, fueled by a season-high .378 hitting percentage, and a five-set triumph over ULM which saw the team hold double-digit advantages in kills, assists and digs.

As the season's home stretch begins – just 11 matches remain before the Sun Belt Conference Tournament – the Ragin' Cajuns are building momentum, having on six of their last nine matches. Over the past four weeks, the squad is hitting .202, averaging 12.17 kills and 15.97 digs per set, has outblocked opponents (63-58) and won the past two five-set matches.

In addition to the results, the Ragin' Cajuns offense has heated up recently. The squad has hit above .200 in five of the last six outings. In Sun Belt play, which began Sept. 23, Louisiana sports a .215 hitting percentage and averages 12.48 kills per set.

The Ragin' Cajuns offense is led by Stacey Reilly (3.52 kills per set) and Chanelle Gardner (2.78 kills/set). Reilly has set a career-best total for kills, entering the weekend with 278. Gardner, currently at 917 career kills, is working her way toward becoming the rally scoring era leader needing just 37 to pass Lesley Mirarchi for top billing.

Chloe Cordell (1.91 kills/set), Nia Antoine (1.87 kills/set), Hanna Rovira (1.64 kills/set) and Chynna Brooks (1.64 kills/set) round out the offensive production. Cordell and Brooks came off the bench and provided 14 and 10 kills, respectively, in last Saturday's five-set win over ULM.

Setter Jessica Bartczyszyn, coming off a career-best 19 digs to go along with 51 assists vs. ULM, ranks second in the Sun Belt averaging 9.71 assists per set.

Libero Sydney Davis, who has eclipsed 300 digs for the second straight season, is averaging 4.71 digs per set during the stretch of six wins in nine matches and ranks second in the SBC with 5.48 digs per set in league play.

Leading Arkansas State's offense is Carlisa May who ranks second in the SBC in kills per set with 3.93 and ranks 31st in the nation with 287 total kills. Libero Markie Schaedig leads the league with a 5.44 digs per set mark, which ranks third in the nation. Senior setter Mallory Warrington is second in the nation and first in the SBC with an 11.99 assist per set ratio.

Little Rock, along with the Ragin' Cajuns, are one of six teams hitting above .200 in Sun Belt play (.221). The Trojans are the league's top blocking squad, averaging 3.14 blocks per set for the season. The trio of Veronica Marin (2.45), Marina Avram (2.34) and Carolee Dillard (2.07) pace the offense each averaging above 2.00 kills per set.

Coach Mazeitis-Fontenot's Thoughts
"I can't say enough about how well Stacey Reilly and Jessica Bartczyszyn are playing, those two are really doing some good stuff. Chynna Brooks really sparked us off the bench last Saturday. An unsung hero for us is Hannah Henry who plays three rotations in the back row and is just steady – when she is in there she is a mainstay to what we can do offensively and is doing an awesome job defensively.

Big weekend for us. Arkansas State is up first, and that's a big matchup for us. Our last matchup with Little Rock went to five sets, 17-15 in the fifth set in thrilling fashion, so I expect Sunday's match to be no less thrilling.

Series Notables
Arkansas State: The Red Wolves have won the last five meetings, claiming the last three in straight sets…Louisiana's last series win was on Nov. 3, 2013 at Earl K. Long Gym in straight sets…ASU holds a 44-14 series lead and has won 13 of the 17 meetings during the Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot era.

Little Rock: The Ragin' Cajuns are 7-9 vs. the Trojans with Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot, the most wins by any coach in program history in the series…Louisiana seeks the season series sweep of Little Rock for the first time since 2013 and third time in the past six seasons (since 2011).

Up Next
The Ragin' Cajuns close out October on the road with a four-match trip that begins next weekend on the East coast with Sun Belt matches at Coastal Carolina (Oct. 21) and Appalachian State (Oct. 23).

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Players Mentioned

Nia Antoine

Jessica Bartczyszyn

Chynna Brooks

Chloe Cordell

Sydney Davis

Chanelle Gardner

Hannah Henry

Stacey Reilly

Hanna Rovira