University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Friday, October 4
Lafayette
6:30 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
vs
Appalachian State
Sun Belt Home Opening Weekend Marks Louisiana Volleyball’s Return Home
10/3/2019 11:36:00 AM | Volleyball
Ragin’ Cajuns seek to extend four-match win streak at Earl K. Long Gym
LAFAYETTE – Volleyball action returns to Earl K. Long Gym this weekend when the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns host their first Sun Belt Conference matches of the 2019 season.
In its first home weekend following a three-week road trip, Louisiana (5-10, 1-1 Sun Belt) meets Appalachian State on Friday followed by a matchup with Coastal Carolina on Saturday. Both contests begin at 6:30 p.m.
The Ragin' Cajuns carry a four-match win streak on their home court into the weekend set with the Mountaineers (6-9, 2-0 Sun Belt) and Chanticleers (12-2, 2-0 Sun Belt).
The App State-Coastal weekend marks the first of six consecutive matches against the Sun Belt East Division which runs through Oct. 19.
Louisiana opened Sun Belt play last week with a split of the Texas road trip, dropping a tough four-set battle at Texas State then bouncing back with a strong offensive effort in a four-set triumph at UT Arlington.
Friday's match with Appalachian State will air live on ESPN+, and will be tape-delayed on Cox Sports TV at 8 p.m. on Saturday evening.
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 16: Louisiana (5-10, 1-1 Sun Belt) vs. Appalachian State (6-9, 2-0 Sun Belt)
Friday, Oct. 4 • 6:30 p.m. (CDT) • Earl K. Long Gym (1,121) • Lafayette, La.
Television: ESPN+ (tape delay, Saturday @ 8 p.m., Cox Sports TV)
Series: Tied 4-4
Last Meeting: 9/30/18 in Boone, N.C. – Appalachian State W, 3-2 (22-25, 24-26, 25-19, 25-20, 15-9)
Watch | Live Stats
Match 17: Louisiana (5-10, 1-1 Sun Belt) vs. Coastal Carolina (12-2, 2-0 Sun Belt)
Saturday, Oct. 5 • 6:30 p.m. (CDT) • Earl K. Long Gym (1,121) • Lafayette, La.
Stream: RaginCajuns.com/Watch
Series: Coastal Carolina leads 4-0
Last Meeting: 9/28/18 in Conway, S.C. – Coastal Carolina W, 3-1 (25-16, 21-25, 25-23, 25-18)
Watch | Live Stats
SET POINTS
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
The Ragin' Cajuns begin a stretch of four straight road matches against Sun Belt East Division teams with a trip to Alabama set for Friday-Saturday, Oct. 11-12.
Louisiana faces South Alabama in Mobile on Friday, then travels to Troy for a Saturday evening matchup. Both contests begin at 6:30 p.m.
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.
In its first home weekend following a three-week road trip, Louisiana (5-10, 1-1 Sun Belt) meets Appalachian State on Friday followed by a matchup with Coastal Carolina on Saturday. Both contests begin at 6:30 p.m.
The Ragin' Cajuns carry a four-match win streak on their home court into the weekend set with the Mountaineers (6-9, 2-0 Sun Belt) and Chanticleers (12-2, 2-0 Sun Belt).
The App State-Coastal weekend marks the first of six consecutive matches against the Sun Belt East Division which runs through Oct. 19.
Louisiana opened Sun Belt play last week with a split of the Texas road trip, dropping a tough four-set battle at Texas State then bouncing back with a strong offensive effort in a four-set triumph at UT Arlington.
Friday's match with Appalachian State will air live on ESPN+, and will be tape-delayed on Cox Sports TV at 8 p.m. on Saturday evening.
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 16: Louisiana (5-10, 1-1 Sun Belt) vs. Appalachian State (6-9, 2-0 Sun Belt)
Friday, Oct. 4 • 6:30 p.m. (CDT) • Earl K. Long Gym (1,121) • Lafayette, La.
Television: ESPN+ (tape delay, Saturday @ 8 p.m., Cox Sports TV)
Series: Tied 4-4
Last Meeting: 9/30/18 in Boone, N.C. – Appalachian State W, 3-2 (22-25, 24-26, 25-19, 25-20, 15-9)
Watch | Live Stats
Match 17: Louisiana (5-10, 1-1 Sun Belt) vs. Coastal Carolina (12-2, 2-0 Sun Belt)
Saturday, Oct. 5 • 6:30 p.m. (CDT) • Earl K. Long Gym (1,121) • Lafayette, La.
Stream: RaginCajuns.com/Watch
Series: Coastal Carolina leads 4-0
Last Meeting: 9/28/18 in Conway, S.C. – Coastal Carolina W, 3-1 (25-16, 21-25, 25-23, 25-18)
Watch | Live Stats
SET POINTS
- Louisiana steps onto the court at Earl K. Long Gym for the first time since the season-opening, seven-match homestand that concluded with a midweek match vs. Southern Miss on Sept. 10.
- During the four-match win streak at Earl K. Long Gym the Ragin' Cajuns are averaging 13.5 kills per set on a .238 hitting percentage, and are also averaging 2.1 blocks and 18.3 digs per set.
- Saturday's battle could be a classic offense vs. defense challenge: the Sun Belt's dig leaders (Louisiana) face off with the league's most efficient offense (Coastal Carolina).
- The Ragin' Cajuns were challenged the previous three weekends, facing foes who now have a combined mark of 76-35. The stretch included matchups with four Power 5 opponents.
- Louisiana has made it tough for opposing foes to find the floor, averaging 18.0 digs per set thus far – a figure which ranks Top 10 nationally.
- The Ragin' Cajuns have scooped at least 50 digs in all but one match and has turned in a handful of three-set matches with an average of 20 per set.
- Junior setter Avery Breaux needs five assists to reach the 1,000 mark in her collegiate career. Last weekend as the primary setter in the team's return to the 5-1 offense, Breaux set her career-high in assists twice (35 at TXST, 46 at UTA).
- Four times in the past five outings Hali Wisnoskie has produced double-digit kills, finishing with 12 kills both nights of last week's Texas trip.
- Hali Wisnoskie now leads the Ragin' Cajuns with 129 kills (2.48 per set), moving her past the century mark for the third straight season.
- With eight more kills Hali Wisnoskie checks off another milestone, as that amount will increase her collegiate career total to 800 kills.
- Dree'Ana Abram scored over three kills per set (3.25) and tallied a .333 hitting percentage over the eight sets played during the opening weekend of Sun Belt Conference play at Texas State and UT Arlington.
- Now at 275 career blocks, Dree'Ana Abram sits five blocks away from joining the Top 5 leaders in the rally scoring era. She trails Lesley Mirarchi (2008-11) by five for the fifth-place spot.
- For the second straight week, Tia Jade Smith racked up both double digits in total blocks and averaged over one per set. Smith posted 10 blocks during the Texas trek highlighted by a season-high seven at UTA.
- Starting with the Gators Invitational at Florida, Tia Jade Smith has posted 23 blocks over the past 19 sets (1.2 per set). She's taken over the team lead for the season with 43 blocks.
- Sophomore Kelsey Bennett provided a spark on defense during Sun Belt Opening Weekend, collecting 39 digs (4.9 per set) – only one off the team-leading total by libero Hannah Ramirez. For the first time as a Ragin' Cajun, she reached double digits in digs starting with a career-high 22 digs at Texas State.
- 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
The Ragin' Cajuns begin a stretch of four straight road matches against Sun Belt East Division teams with a trip to Alabama set for Friday-Saturday, Oct. 11-12.
Louisiana faces South Alabama in Mobile on Friday, then travels to Troy for a Saturday evening matchup. Both contests begin at 6:30 p.m.
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 -
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