University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Friday, September 20
Gainesville, Fla.
9 a.m. (CDT)
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
4-7
0
vs
3
Northern Arizona
7-3
1
2
3
F
Louisiana
23
21
23
0
Northern Arizona
25
25
25
3
NAU and Liberty Able to Overcome Louisiana’s Persistent Efforts
9/20/2019 9:15:00 PM | Volleyball
Ragin’ Cajuns outworked foes on opening day of the Gators Invitational
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – On the opening day of the Gators Invitational the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball team was dealt a pair of hard-luck setbacks by Northern Arizona and Liberty.
Despite holding the advantage in kills (45-39), digs (60-56) and blocks (9.0-5.0) against Northern Arizona it was the Lumberjacks claiming a 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-23) decision.
Then in the nightcap the Ragin' Cajuns (4-8) bounced back to force a fifth set on Liberty, but the Flames were able to stay one step ahead in the winner-take-all frame to claim a 3-2 (25-16, 25-19, 16-25, 24-26, 15-12) win.
Untimely miscues left Louisiana left wondering against Northern Arizona. After leading nearly the entire opening set, at one point ahead 17-12, the Lumberjacks (7-3) crept back in and stole the momentum when a 23-23 tie was broken by a Ragin' Cajuns service error and reception error which gave NAU the opening set.
Turning up the dial on defense flipped the script against Liberty – and dug Louisiana out of an 0-2 deficit – as the Ragin' Cajuns held the Flames (6-5) to sub-.100 hitting in the third and fourth sets to pull even. In all, the two teams battled through 32 ties and 12 lead changes throughout the match.
LEADING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Precision hitting from Kelsey Bennett and Tia Jade Smith paced the offensive efforts vs. NAU. Bennett scored 13 kills off 23 swings, while Smith landed 12 on just 18 swings.
Smith topped the team with six blocks against Lumberjack attackers while Hannah Ramirez scooped a match-high 21 digs.
Hali Wisnoskie collected her second double-double of the season notching 10 kills and 10 digs. Claire Turner dealt a team-high 18 assists.
Wisnoskie also hit double digits in kills against Liberty, topping the squad her season-high of 14 kills. Bennett posted a repeat performance of 13 kills, equaling her career-high total and landing the first back-to-back double-digit performances of her collegiate career.
Smith was equally dominant at the net as she threw up six more blocks. She also netted 10 kills off 20 swings, capping off a day in which she landed 22 kills on 38 swings and hit .553.
Avery Breaux rounded up 16 digs and Lexi Hebert added 15 digs to counter the Flames keeping the ball away from Ramirez. Breaux added 33 assists to her stat line for her sixth double-double.
UP NEXT
Louisiana plays its final non-conference match of the season on Saturday facing No. 11 Florida (8-2) in the finale of the Gators Invitational. First serve is set for 2:30 p.m. (CDT) from Exactech Arena.
Fans can track the UF match by accessing the live stats link at RaginCajuns.com/2019VB and with updates posted on the team's Twitter account (@RaginCajunsVB).
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.
Despite holding the advantage in kills (45-39), digs (60-56) and blocks (9.0-5.0) against Northern Arizona it was the Lumberjacks claiming a 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-23) decision.
Then in the nightcap the Ragin' Cajuns (4-8) bounced back to force a fifth set on Liberty, but the Flames were able to stay one step ahead in the winner-take-all frame to claim a 3-2 (25-16, 25-19, 16-25, 24-26, 15-12) win.
Untimely miscues left Louisiana left wondering against Northern Arizona. After leading nearly the entire opening set, at one point ahead 17-12, the Lumberjacks (7-3) crept back in and stole the momentum when a 23-23 tie was broken by a Ragin' Cajuns service error and reception error which gave NAU the opening set.
Turning up the dial on defense flipped the script against Liberty – and dug Louisiana out of an 0-2 deficit – as the Ragin' Cajuns held the Flames (6-5) to sub-.100 hitting in the third and fourth sets to pull even. In all, the two teams battled through 32 ties and 12 lead changes throughout the match.
LEADING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Precision hitting from Kelsey Bennett and Tia Jade Smith paced the offensive efforts vs. NAU. Bennett scored 13 kills off 23 swings, while Smith landed 12 on just 18 swings.
Smith topped the team with six blocks against Lumberjack attackers while Hannah Ramirez scooped a match-high 21 digs.
Hali Wisnoskie collected her second double-double of the season notching 10 kills and 10 digs. Claire Turner dealt a team-high 18 assists.
Wisnoskie also hit double digits in kills against Liberty, topping the squad her season-high of 14 kills. Bennett posted a repeat performance of 13 kills, equaling her career-high total and landing the first back-to-back double-digit performances of her collegiate career.
Smith was equally dominant at the net as she threw up six more blocks. She also netted 10 kills off 20 swings, capping off a day in which she landed 22 kills on 38 swings and hit .553.
Avery Breaux rounded up 16 digs and Lexi Hebert added 15 digs to counter the Flames keeping the ball away from Ramirez. Breaux added 33 assists to her stat line for her sixth double-double.
UP NEXT
Louisiana plays its final non-conference match of the season on Saturday facing No. 11 Florida (8-2) in the finale of the Gators Invitational. First serve is set for 2:30 p.m. (CDT) from Exactech Arena.
Fans can track the UF match by accessing the live stats link at RaginCajuns.com/2019VB and with updates posted on the team's Twitter account (@RaginCajunsVB).
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 -
Team Stats
LA
NAU
Kills
45
39
Errors
16
12
Attempts
126
121
Hitting %
.230
.223
Points
56.0
49.0
Assists
41
36
Aces
2
5
Blocks
9.0
5.0
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS/OH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
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