University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Friday, September 29
Lafayette
6:30 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
vs
Arkansas State
Cajuns Return to E.K. Long Gym for Sun Belt Home Opener
9/28/2017 11:24:00 AM | Volleyball
The weekend kicks off with a Block Party on the lawn of E.K. Long on Friday featuring a Geno Delafose concert from 4:30-6:00pm
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball Set for Sun Belt Home Opener
Friday, Sept. 29, 2017 vs. Arkansas State | 6:30 p.m. | Earl K. Long Gym
Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017 vs. Little Rock | 6:30 p.m. | Earl K. Long Gym
Match 16: Louisiana (8-7, 2-0 Sun Belt) vs. Arkansas State (8-7, 1-1 Sun Belt)
Friday, Sept. 29 • 6:30 p.m. • Earl K. Long Gym (1,121) • Lafayette, La.
Series: Arkansas State leads 45-14
Last Meeting: 10/14/16 at Earl K. Long Gym – Arkansas State W, 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-19)
Live Stats | Live Video (FREE)
Match 17: Louisiana (8-7, 2-0 Sun Belt) vs. Little Rock (4-10, 0-2 Sun Belt)
Saturday, Sept. 30 • 6:30 p.m. • Earl K. Long Gym (1,121) • Lafayette, La.
Series: Little Rock leads 37-9
Last Meeting: 10/26/2016 at Earl K. Long Gym – Little Rock W, 3-2 (16-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-17, 17-15)
Live Stats | Live Video (FREE)
Rosters: Louisiana | Arkansas State | Little Rock
Schedules: Louisiana | Arkansas State | Little Rock
Season Stats: Louisiana | Arkansas State | Little Rock
Ragin' Cajuns Twitter: @RaginCajunsVB
Opponents' Twitter: @AStateVB | @LittleRockVB
SETTING THE SCENE
The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball team returns to Earl K. Long Gym for the first time in four weeks and hosts the Sun Belt's Arkansas schools Friday-Saturday, Sept. 29-30.
The Ragin' Cajuns face Arkansas State in the Sun Belt home opener on Friday, then battle Little Rock on Saturday. Both matches are set to begin at 6:30 p.m.
There will be a block party on the lawn of Earl K. Long Gym on Friday prior to the ASU match, headlined by a free concert performed by Geno Delafose and French Rocking Boogie from 4:30-6:00 p.m.
Color themes have been selected for this weekend's homestand. Fans encouraged to wear red on Friday and wear black on Saturday.
Louisiana (8-7, 2-0 Sun Belt) is off to its first 2-0 start in Sun Belt play since the 2010 season. Last weekend, the Ragin' Cajuns hit .256 and averaged a conference-best 14.71 kills per set in a road trip sweep of Georgia Southern and Georgia State.
The Ragin' Cajuns are back inside EKL for the first time since hosting the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic. The squad is 4-2 on its home court this season, carrying a three-match win streak in the facility into the weekend.
Stacey Reilly (2.91 kills per set) and Hali Wisnoskie (2.90 kills per set) have been a consistent source of offensive production. Reilly is 11 kills shy of the 900-plateau in her career, while Wisnoskie's 148 season kills have her on pace to become the first freshman to reach 200 since Reilly in 2014.
Last weekend in Georgia, the team's middle blockers were at their season's best and were a huge part of the success. Nia Antoine hit .422 for the weekend and turned in a career-high tying 18 kills at Georgia Southern. Dree'Ana Abram had one of her more efficient performances of the season, hitting .406.
Reigning Sun Belt Setter of the Week Jessica Bartczyszyn is one of only two Sun Belt setters (App State's Ashlyn Brown) to hand out 50 or more assists in a match this season. She's averaged 10-plus assists per set in four of the last five outings, guiding the Ragin' Cajuns to a .244 hitting percentage during the timeframe.
Libero Sydney Davis heads up the back row averaging 4.51 digs per set. Freshmen Avery Breaux (2.24 digs/set) and Lexi Hebert (2.38 digs/set) have been invaluable off the bench, helping the Cajuns strengthen their back row efforts.
This weekend's matches are the first of two contests against the two SBC West division foes. Louisiana heads to Arkansas the weekend of Oct. 13-15, visiting Little Rock on Friday (Oct. 13) and Jonesboro on Sunday (Oct. 15).
REWARDED EFFORTS: Each of the last four weeks the Ragin' Cajuns have had at least one representative on the list of weekly player of the week winners chosen by the Sun Belt's head coaches. The most recent honoree was setter Jessica Bartczyszyn who was named SBC Setter of the Week for matches played Sept. 18-24, her second time this season receiving the award (Sept. 4).
THE COMFORTS OF HOME: With the exception of a short trip to Monroe to face ULM on Oct. 6, the Ragin' Cajuns will spend the better part of the next two weeks at home. This weekend's action kicks off a three-match homestand that also includes a midweek affair with Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday (Oct. 3). After the visit to ULM, the squad hosts the Warhawks at EKL on Oct. 8.
NIFTY NIA: Paced by a career-high tying 18 kills at Georgia Southern, Nia Antoine finished the weekend with 26 kills (3.71/set). Her production came off a .422 hitting percentage.
SETTING THE PACE: Jessica Bartczyszyn averaged 12 assists per set in both of Louisiana's road wins in Georgia on Sun Belt-opening weekend. She directed Louisiana's offense to a .256 hitting percentage and a conference-best 14.71 kills per set over the weekend.
CONSISTENT SOURCE: Stacey Reilly's 11 kills at Georgia State marked her team-leading 11th match with double digits and 39th overall in her career. A season ago, Reilly proved to be a go-to source for offense, reaching double digits in kills 23 times.
FINE-TUNED HITTING: The Ragin' Cajuns are one of only four teams in the Sun Belt Conference hitting above .200. The squad ranks second in the league with a .218 season percentage.
FINE-TUNED HITTING (Part 2): Louisiana's .243 hitting percentage at Georgia State marked the fourth time in the past two weekends (five matches total) that the team hit above .200.
IT STARTS WITH DEFENSE: One of the Ragin' Cajuns' goals is to have the top defense in the Sun Belt. After five weeks, the team leads in digs (16.35/set) and sits fourth in blocks (2.22/set).
CLOSING ON RECORD: Head coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot increased her wins total as Ragin' Cajuns head coach to 127 following last weekend's Georgia trip. She's now nine (9) wins shy of tying Wilo Colon's program-record 136 victories.
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.
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).
VETERAN ATMOSPHERE: After spending the past two seasons nurturing and developing a young squad, head coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot has experience on her side in 2017. The Ragin' Cajuns returned all but one starter and 13 players from last season. The program's current roster features nine upperclassmen.
COACH MAZEITIS-FONTENOT'S THOUGHTS
On the key to early season success: "The biggest difference this year comes from our leadership. Our four seniors are leading very well. I don't feel like we have to wait for things to happen. You can see that the team is just ready."
On an extended home stay in middle of the season: "Very important…we are road weary, right now. It's going to be fabulous for our players to be able to sleep in their own room, but more importantly go to class and get caught up on their classwork. We have so many great students and traveling is an additional stress."
UP NEXT
The Ragin' Cajuns remain at Earl K. Long Gym and play their final non-conference match of the season on Tuesday, Oct. 3 vs. Southeastern Louisiana. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
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
Friday, Sept. 29, 2017 vs. Arkansas State | 6:30 p.m. | Earl K. Long Gym
Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017 vs. Little Rock | 6:30 p.m. | Earl K. Long Gym
Match 16: Louisiana (8-7, 2-0 Sun Belt) vs. Arkansas State (8-7, 1-1 Sun Belt)
Friday, Sept. 29 • 6:30 p.m. • Earl K. Long Gym (1,121) • Lafayette, La.
Series: Arkansas State leads 45-14
Last Meeting: 10/14/16 at Earl K. Long Gym – Arkansas State W, 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-19)
Live Stats | Live Video (FREE)
Match 17: Louisiana (8-7, 2-0 Sun Belt) vs. Little Rock (4-10, 0-2 Sun Belt)
Saturday, Sept. 30 • 6:30 p.m. • Earl K. Long Gym (1,121) • Lafayette, La.
Series: Little Rock leads 37-9
Last Meeting: 10/26/2016 at Earl K. Long Gym – Little Rock W, 3-2 (16-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-17, 17-15)
Live Stats | Live Video (FREE)
Rosters: Louisiana | Arkansas State | Little Rock
Schedules: Louisiana | Arkansas State | Little Rock
Season Stats: Louisiana | Arkansas State | Little Rock
Ragin' Cajuns Twitter: @RaginCajunsVB
Opponents' Twitter: @AStateVB | @LittleRockVB
SETTING THE SCENE
The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball team returns to Earl K. Long Gym for the first time in four weeks and hosts the Sun Belt's Arkansas schools Friday-Saturday, Sept. 29-30.
The Ragin' Cajuns face Arkansas State in the Sun Belt home opener on Friday, then battle Little Rock on Saturday. Both matches are set to begin at 6:30 p.m.
There will be a block party on the lawn of Earl K. Long Gym on Friday prior to the ASU match, headlined by a free concert performed by Geno Delafose and French Rocking Boogie from 4:30-6:00 p.m.
Color themes have been selected for this weekend's homestand. Fans encouraged to wear red on Friday and wear black on Saturday.
Louisiana (8-7, 2-0 Sun Belt) is off to its first 2-0 start in Sun Belt play since the 2010 season. Last weekend, the Ragin' Cajuns hit .256 and averaged a conference-best 14.71 kills per set in a road trip sweep of Georgia Southern and Georgia State.
The Ragin' Cajuns are back inside EKL for the first time since hosting the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic. The squad is 4-2 on its home court this season, carrying a three-match win streak in the facility into the weekend.
Stacey Reilly (2.91 kills per set) and Hali Wisnoskie (2.90 kills per set) have been a consistent source of offensive production. Reilly is 11 kills shy of the 900-plateau in her career, while Wisnoskie's 148 season kills have her on pace to become the first freshman to reach 200 since Reilly in 2014.
Last weekend in Georgia, the team's middle blockers were at their season's best and were a huge part of the success. Nia Antoine hit .422 for the weekend and turned in a career-high tying 18 kills at Georgia Southern. Dree'Ana Abram had one of her more efficient performances of the season, hitting .406.
Reigning Sun Belt Setter of the Week Jessica Bartczyszyn is one of only two Sun Belt setters (App State's Ashlyn Brown) to hand out 50 or more assists in a match this season. She's averaged 10-plus assists per set in four of the last five outings, guiding the Ragin' Cajuns to a .244 hitting percentage during the timeframe.
Libero Sydney Davis heads up the back row averaging 4.51 digs per set. Freshmen Avery Breaux (2.24 digs/set) and Lexi Hebert (2.38 digs/set) have been invaluable off the bench, helping the Cajuns strengthen their back row efforts.
This weekend's matches are the first of two contests against the two SBC West division foes. Louisiana heads to Arkansas the weekend of Oct. 13-15, visiting Little Rock on Friday (Oct. 13) and Jonesboro on Sunday (Oct. 15).
REWARDED EFFORTS: Each of the last four weeks the Ragin' Cajuns have had at least one representative on the list of weekly player of the week winners chosen by the Sun Belt's head coaches. The most recent honoree was setter Jessica Bartczyszyn who was named SBC Setter of the Week for matches played Sept. 18-24, her second time this season receiving the award (Sept. 4).
THE COMFORTS OF HOME: With the exception of a short trip to Monroe to face ULM on Oct. 6, the Ragin' Cajuns will spend the better part of the next two weeks at home. This weekend's action kicks off a three-match homestand that also includes a midweek affair with Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday (Oct. 3). After the visit to ULM, the squad hosts the Warhawks at EKL on Oct. 8.
NIFTY NIA: Paced by a career-high tying 18 kills at Georgia Southern, Nia Antoine finished the weekend with 26 kills (3.71/set). Her production came off a .422 hitting percentage.
SETTING THE PACE: Jessica Bartczyszyn averaged 12 assists per set in both of Louisiana's road wins in Georgia on Sun Belt-opening weekend. She directed Louisiana's offense to a .256 hitting percentage and a conference-best 14.71 kills per set over the weekend.
CONSISTENT SOURCE: Stacey Reilly's 11 kills at Georgia State marked her team-leading 11th match with double digits and 39th overall in her career. A season ago, Reilly proved to be a go-to source for offense, reaching double digits in kills 23 times.
FINE-TUNED HITTING: The Ragin' Cajuns are one of only four teams in the Sun Belt Conference hitting above .200. The squad ranks second in the league with a .218 season percentage.
FINE-TUNED HITTING (Part 2): Louisiana's .243 hitting percentage at Georgia State marked the fourth time in the past two weekends (five matches total) that the team hit above .200.
IT STARTS WITH DEFENSE: One of the Ragin' Cajuns' goals is to have the top defense in the Sun Belt. After five weeks, the team leads in digs (16.35/set) and sits fourth in blocks (2.22/set).
CLOSING ON RECORD: Head coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot increased her wins total as Ragin' Cajuns head coach to 127 following last weekend's Georgia trip. She's now nine (9) wins shy of tying Wilo Colon's program-record 136 victories.
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.
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).
VETERAN ATMOSPHERE: After spending the past two seasons nurturing and developing a young squad, head coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot has experience on her side in 2017. The Ragin' Cajuns returned all but one starter and 13 players from last season. The program's current roster features nine upperclassmen.
COACH MAZEITIS-FONTENOT'S THOUGHTS
On the key to early season success: "The biggest difference this year comes from our leadership. Our four seniors are leading very well. I don't feel like we have to wait for things to happen. You can see that the team is just ready."
On an extended home stay in middle of the season: "Very important…we are road weary, right now. It's going to be fabulous for our players to be able to sleep in their own room, but more importantly go to class and get caught up on their classwork. We have so many great students and traveling is an additional stress."
UP NEXT
The Ragin' Cajuns remain at Earl K. Long Gym and play their final non-conference match of the season on Tuesday, Oct. 3 vs. Southeastern Louisiana. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
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
Players Mentioned
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