Volleyball Set for Final Weekend at E.K. Long Gym

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball Concludes Home Schedule
Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017 vs. UTA | 6:30 p.m. | Earl K. Long Gym
Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017 vs. Texas State | 6:30 p.m. | Earl K. Long Gym

Match 25: Louisiana (15-9, 8-2 Sun Belt) vs. UTA (10-12, 4-5 Sun Belt)
Thursday, Oct. 26 • 6:30 p.m. • Earl K. Long Gym (1,121) • Lafayette, La.
Series: UTA leads 15-1
Last Meeting: 11/11/16 at Earl K. Long Gym – UTA W, 3-0 (29-27, 25-20, 25-21)
Live Stats | Live Video (FREE)

Match 26: Louisiana (15-9, 8-2 Sun Belt) vs. Texas State (17-7, 8-1 Sun Belt)
Saturday, Oct. 28 • 6:30 p.m. • Earl K. Long Gym (1,121) • Lafayette, La.
Series: Texas State leads 12-0
Last Meeting: 11/12/2016 at Earl K. Long Gym – Texas State W, 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-20)
Live Stats | Live Video (FREE)

Rosters: Louisiana | UTA | Texas State
Schedules: Louisiana | UTA | Texas State
Season Stats: Louisiana | UTA | Texas State
Ragin' Cajuns Twitter: @RaginCajunsVB
Opponents' Twitter: @UTAVolleyball | @TexasStateVball

MATCH PROMOTIONS
Thursday – Volleyween

Pre-match trick-or-treat at 5:30pm
Halloween costume contest for Academy Gift Cards

Saturday – Senior Night/Alumni Weekend

Senior class honored in post-match ceremony
Alumni in attendance recognized between second and third set

SETTING THE SCENE
The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball team takes the court at Earl K. Long Gym for the final time in the 2017 season hosting UTA on Thursday and Texas State on Saturday. Both matches begin at 6:30 p.m.

The Ragin' Cajuns (15-9, 8-2 Sun Belt) are also closing out a four-match homestand which began last weekend with a sweep of Appalachian State and a hard-fought five set loss to Coastal Carolina.

The weekend set will be the final time that the 2017 senior class competes in a match at E.K. Long Gym. The senior class includes: Jessica Bartczyszyn, Chynna Brooks, Chloe Cordell and Stacey Reilly. The quartet will be honored and celebrated during a ceremony following the conclusion of Saturday's match.

Having clinched a spot into the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, the Ragin' Cajuns now seek to remain among the competitors for the top seed in the event and the lead in the West division. Louisiana currently is one game behind South Alabama and Coastal Carolina for the top seed and a half game behind Texas State (17-7, 8-1 Sun Belt) for the SBC West lead.

A pair of milestones could be reached as senior outside hitter Stacey Reilly sits 14 kills away from her 1,000th career kill and head coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot is two wins shy of tying Wilo Colon's program wins record of 136.

Louisiana is coming off of one its best performances at the service line, piling up 11 aces combined over the App State-Coastal weekend. The squad continued its strong blocking as well, totaling 22 by putting up double digits in both outings.

A staple for the Ragin' Cajuns in Sun Belt play has been a balanced and efficient offense. Five different players are averaging at least 1.50 kills per set in league action and the team has hit at or above .200 in all but one of the 10 contests so far.

Reilly and fellow outside hitter Hali Wisnoskie charge the offense and are coming off a combined 31 in the Coastal Carolina matchup. Reilly leads the way averaging 2.82 kills per set (2.70 in SBC play) and Wisnoskie 2.79 kills per set (2.63 in SBC play).

Louisiana possesses one of the Top 3 defenses in the Sun Belt, leading the league in digs (16.93/set) and ranking third in blocks (2.32/set) and opponents' hitting percentage (.189). Dree'Ana Abram (82 blocks) and Nia Antoine (77 blocks) lead the frontline defense at the net, while libero Sydney Davis (4.78 digs/set) is joined by freshmen Lexi Hebert (2.54 digs/set) and Avery Breaux (2.41 digs/set) anchor the back row.

The matchups with UTA (10-12, 4-5 Sun Belt) and Texas State are the first in a Sun Belt home-and-home between the West division foes. The Ragin' Cajuns will return the visit in two weeks when they travel to San Marcos and Arlington the weekend of Nov. 10-12.

NOTEWORTHY
SELECT COMPANY: Stacey Reilly is set to become just the second Ragin' Cajun in the rally scoring era (2001-present) to reach 1,000 kills (currently has 986). She would join former teammate Chanelle Gardner (2013-16) in accomplishing the feat. Gardner posted her 1,000th and final career kill on Nov. 12, 2016 vs. Texas State.

SETTING THE BAR: When she posts her 1,001st career kill, Stacey Reilly will become the rally scoring era leader in career kills, passing up Chanelle Gardner's 1,000. When her career is complete, Reilly's final tally will stand as the new benchmark for future Ragin' Cajuns.

A WIZ ON OFFENSE: Freshman Hali Wisnoskie's 243 kills are the eighth-most recorded by a Ragin' Cajuns freshman in the rally scoring era (2001-present). She's one of only 10 freshmen who have reached the plateau in the rally era, and first since teammate Stacey Reilly in 2014. The freshman record for the rally scoring era is 340 posted by Amie Goodwin in 2007.

PUTTING WORK IN: In addition to her normal setting duties, Jessica Bartczyszyn had a hand in nearly every facet of both matches on the Appalachian State-Coastal weekend. She totaled seven kills, 59 assists, 19 digs and nine blocks over the eight sets competed in.

PUTTING WORK IN (Part 2): The App State-Coastal performance was the norm for Jessica Bartczyszyn who extends her efforts outside her role as setter. In addition to averaging 9.63 assists per set (385 total) in Sun Belt play, she is averaging 2.25 digs per set (90 total) and 0.70 blocks per set (28 total).

WORKING ON ANOTHER 1,000: Currently at 878 assists, Jessica Bartczyszyn is approaching a second consecutive season of 1,000 assists. Last season, the senior setter from Cary, Ill., piled up 1,144 which is the fourth-most recorded in a season in the rally scoring era.

TEAM FIRST: The Ragin' Cajuns have utilized a balanced attack on offense in its rise to the top of the Sun Belt. Five different players average at least 1.50 kills per set. A perfect example was the App State match, where six different players produced at least four kills.

ROADBLOCK: The Ragin' Cajuns season blocks total to currently stands at 211, marking the first season of 200-plus blocks since 2014 (253). The squad has out-blocked, or had equal numbers as the opposition, in each of the past 10 matches.

FRONT ROW FORCE: Sophomore middle blocker Dree'Ana Abram has thrown up at least four blocks on 12 occasions, leading her to a team-high 82 total blocks (17 BS, 65 BA). Abram's average of 0.93 blocks per set is the highest by a Ragin' Cajun since Chanelle Gardner averaged the same amount in 2013. Gardner (106 in 2014) was the last to eclipse 100 blocks in a season.

FAST START, QUICK FINISH: The Ragin' Cajuns success this year can be attributed to a 16-8 record in first set and 10-5 mark when matches are extended past a third frame. In each of the team's last 10 victories, the Ragin' Cajuns were the victor in the first set.

A START FOR THE AGES: Louisiana's 7-0 start in Sun Belt Conference play was both the program's best-ever as a member of the league (1991-present) and overall in program history, topping the previous record of 4-0 set by the 1986 squad.

SUPER SENIOR: Setter Jessica Bartczyszyn is not your normal senior…she's a graduate student. Bartczyszyn received her bachelor's degree in English last spring. She's now pursuing a career in nursing, taking pre-requisite courses this semester before applying to graduate school in January.

SISTER, SISTER: Outside hitter Stacey Reilly has a special companion to share her senior season with. Her sister, Katie Zimmerman, joined the Ragin' Cajuns coaching staff in June. Katie played collegiately at Wichita State (indoor) and South Carolina (beach). The sister tandem is together as Stacey chases the program's rally scoring era career record for kills and attempts to join Chanelle Gardner as the only individual to play an entire career under the rally format and reach 1,000 kills.

COACH MAZEITIS-FONTENOT'S THOUGHTS
On the outlook heading into the stretch run: "Now that our conference tournament spot is secured, we're going to get after these remaining matches. We still have the ability to win this conference. We still have the ability to win the West division. Those are things we are not taking lightly. Playing great is our top priority and progress is number two, each day that we step on the court in practice."

UP NEXT
The Ragin' Cajuns embark on a regular season-ending, four-match road trip that precedes the Sun Belt Conference Tournament (Nov. 16-19 in Jonesboro, Ark.).

Louisiana will be in Alabama the weekend of Nov. 3-4 to face South Alabama on Friday and Troy on Saturday. The following weekend (Nov. 10-12), the team is in Texas for a Friday night match at Texas State and Sunday matinee at UTA.

FOLLOW THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
For more information on Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball, as well as all of Ragin' Cajuns Athletics, visit RaginCajuns.com. Fans can also follow along with the team on Facebook (/ULVolleyball), Twitter (@RaginCajunsVB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsVB).

#GeauxCajuns

Volleyball Set for Final Weekend at E.K. Long Gym

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dree'Ana Abram

Nia Antoine

Jessica Bartczyszyn

Avery Breaux

Chynna Brooks

Chloe Cordell

Sydney Davis

Chanelle Gardner

Chanelle Gardner

Lexi Hebert

Stacey Reilly

Hali Wisnoskie

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University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Volleyball Set for Final Weekend at E.K. Long Gym

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dree'Ana Abram

Nia Antoine

Jessica Bartczyszyn

Avery Breaux

Chynna Brooks

Chloe Cordell

Sydney Davis

Chanelle Gardner

Chanelle Gardner

Lexi Hebert

Stacey Reilly

Hali Wisnoskie

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