Back on the Road, Louisiana Volleyball Set for Sun Belt Weekend in Alabama

LAFAYETTE – Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball returns to the road traveling to Alabama where the squad will face South Alabama and Troy in Sun Belt Conference play.

The Ragin' Cajuns first stop is in Mobile on Friday for a meeting with USA at Jaguar Gym. On Saturday, Louisiana (5-12, 1-3 Sun Belt) travels north on I-65 and makes its way to Troy.

Both matches begin at 6:30 p.m. The Troy contest will be aired on ESPN+.

The matchups with the Jaguars (12-6, 3-1 Sun Belt) and the Trojans (13-3, 3-1 Sun Belt) begins a stretch of four straight road outings against SBC East foes which culminates Oct. 18-20 in Georgia.

Louisiana is coming off back-to-back weekends facing the top two squads in each of the Sun Belt's divisions. The Ragin' Cajuns split a road trip to Texas State and UT Arlington, and had a near miss in a hard-fought five-set battle with Appalachian State in the opening match of the SBC East leaders' visit.

The weekend set marks the lone scheduled meetings with South Alabama and Troy this season.

Fans can follow both of the weekend's matches by accessing the live stats and live video links at RaginCajuns.com/2019VB and with updates posted on the team's Twitter account (@RaginCajunsVB).

THE MATCHES
Match 18: Louisiana (5-12, 1-3 Sun Belt) at South Alabama (12-6, 3-1 Sun Belt)
Friday, Oct. 11 • 6:30 p.m. (CDT) • Jaguar Gym (1,118) • Mobile, Ala.
Stream: USAJaguars.com/Watch
Series: Louisiana leads 34-17
Last Meeting: 10/6/18 at Earl K. Long Gym – Louisiana W, 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-21, 25-16)
Watch | Live Stats

Match 19: Louisiana (5-12, 1-3 Sun Belt) at Troy (13-3, 3-1 Sun Belt)
Saturday, Oct. 12 • 6:30 p.m. (CDT) • Trojan Arena (5,200) • Troy, Ala.
Television: ESPN+
Series: Louisiana leads 12-11
Last Meeting: 10/5/18 at Earl K. Long Gym – Troy W, 3-1 (25-23, 25-17, 19-25, 25-22)
Watch | Live Stats

SET POINTS

The current four-match road trip to face the Sun Belt's Alabama and Georgia schools closes out Louisiana's cross-divisional league matchups this season.
On the last South Alabama-Troy trip (in the 2017 season) the Ragin' Cajuns came away with a pair of four-set triumphs.
In Louisiana's last visit to Jaguar Gym on Nov. 3, 2017, head coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot became the program's all-time winningest coach.
All but one of the Ragin' Cajuns Sun Belt matches have been extended past three sets. In matches of four or more sets Louisiana sports a 5-4 mark in sets played (4-2 in fourth set).
The Ragin' Cajuns scored a season-high tying 67 kills last Friday vs. App State. At 15-plus kills per set, it marked the second straight match in which the offense averaged 13-plus kills per set.
Louisiana has made it tough for opposing foes to find the floor, averaging 17.9 digs per set thus far – a figure which ranks Top 10 nationally.
The Ragin' Cajuns have scooped at least 50 digs in all but two matches and have turned in a handful of three-set matches with an average of 20 per set.
Avery Breaux continues to excel as the primary setter in Louisiana's return to the 5-1 offensive system. Against App State she handed out 55 assists – setting her career-high total for the third straight match.
The first five assists of the App State match moved Avery Breaux to 1,000 collegiate career assists. She currently has 1,068 career assists.
A season-high 20 kills vs. App State was the highlight of a weekend in which freshman right side hitter Celeste Darling averaged 3.38 kills per set on a .300 hitting percentage. It was her first match of double-digit kills since Sept. 7 vs. FAMU.
Kelsey Bennett has scooped double figures in digs in four consecutive matches to start Sun Belt play. Bennett collected 27 digs over the eight sets played during the App State-Coastal weekend.
In Sun Belt play, Kelsey Bennett ranks Top 10 in the league averaging 4.12 digs per set.
Louisiana features a balanced attack with four players averaging at least two kills per set. Two-time All-Sun Belt performer Hali Wisnoskie leads the group averaging 2.40 kills per set.
With 15 kills on the App-Coastal weekend, Hali Wisnoskie checked off another milestone on the way to 1,000 collegiate kills, as that amount will increase her current total past 800 (now at 807).
Senior Dree'Ana Abram had a hand in nine blocks leading Louisiana to a 15-14 advantage over App State and Coastal Carolina combined. The total pushed her career mark to 284 blocks which places her fifth on the rally scoring era career chart.
Over the last two weekends of September, Tia Jade Smith racked up both double digits in total blocks and averaged over one per set. Smith threw up 13 blocks at Florida's Gators Invitational, then posted 10 blocks during the Texas trek highlighted by a season-high seven at UTA.
JUCO transfer libero Hannah Ramirez represented Louisiana on an all-tournament team in three of the four non-conference weekends. Ramirez ranks Top 100 nationally in both total digs and digs per set.

ABOUT LOUISIANA
Highlighting the list of returners is junior outside hitter Hali Wisnoskie, a two-time All-Sun Belt selection and preseason all-conference choice for 2019, who owns a pair of 300-plus kills seasons and senior middle blocker Dree'Ana Abram who has dominated at the net with back-to-back seasons of 90-plus blocks.

Other returning starters include right side hitter Desiree Johnson who appeared in every match and set during her rookie campaign and setters Avery Breaux and Milayne Danna who directed the 6-2 offense in 2018.

Tia Jade Smith, who showed she can be a force in the middle during a key two-week stretch in the second half of Sun Belt play last season, is expected to make an impact.

The Ragin' Cajuns welcome a pair of newcomers from the junior college ranks in standout libero Hannah Ramirez from Panola College along with Lafayette native Elise Baranco who returns home after one season at Pratt (Kan.) Community College.

Freshmen team members include Dallas Skyline Juniors standouts Kara Barnes and Celeste Darling and Parker, Colo., product Claire Turner.

UP NEXT
Louisiana wraps up a series of four straight road matches against Sun Belt East foes the weekend of Oct. 18-20 traveling to face the Georgia schools.

The Ragin' Cajuns meet Georgia Southern in Statesboro on Friday for a 5:30 p.m. (CDT) match and close the trip on Sunday in Atlanta facing Georgia State at 11 a.m. (CDT).

FOLLOW THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Twitter (@RaginCajunsVB), Facebook (/RaginCajunsVB) or Instagram (@RaginCajunsVB) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Volleyball.

- www.RaginCajuns.com -

Back on the Road, Louisiana Volleyball Set for Sun Belt Weekend in Alabama

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Players Mentioned

Dree'Ana Abram

Elise Baranco

Kara Barnes

Kelsey Bennett

Avery Breaux

Milayne Danna

Celeste Darling

Desiree Johnson

Hannah Ramirez

Tia Jade Smith

Claire Turner

Hali Wisnoskie

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University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Back on the Road, Louisiana Volleyball Set for Sun Belt Weekend in Alabama

Next Event

Related News

Players Mentioned

Dree'Ana Abram

Elise Baranco

Kara Barnes

Kelsey Bennett

Avery Breaux

Milayne Danna

Celeste Darling

Desiree Johnson

Hannah Ramirez

Tia Jade Smith

Claire Turner

Hali Wisnoskie

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