Homestanding Louisiana Volleyball Seeks to Protect Early Lead in SBC West

LAFAYETTE – Following a historic Lone Star state sweep which vaulted the team into first place of the Sun Belt's West Division, the Louisiana Volleyball squad seeks to continue building momentum on its home court at Earl K. Long Gym from Friday-Saturday, Oct. 8-9.

On Friday, the Ragin' Cajuns (8-4, 3-1 Sun Belt) face Arkansas State (12-5, 3-2 Sun Belt) to begin the weekend homestand. On Saturday, it's a matchup with Little Rock (10-7, 1-4 Sun Belt).

First serve for both matches is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Admission is FREE. Earl K. Long Gym has returned to 100 percent capacity for the 2021 season (face coverings are required). Fans should park in the lot located on the corner of East St. Mary Boulevard and Girard Park Circle (entrance located on Girard Park Circle).

Last weekend's sweep of the Sun Belt's Texas road trip saw Louisiana prevail in five sets at UT Arlington, for the first win of the season in a match that went to the limits, and then followed up with a commanding 2-0 start on the way to the program's first-ever win over Texas State in San Marcos.

The Ragin' Cajuns enter the weekend one-half game in front of Arkansas State for the SBC West lead.

A live stream of both contests is available on ESPN+ with Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer Dan McDonald providing play-by-play commentary. Live stats will be available at CajunStats.com.

THE MATCHUPS
Friday, Oct. 8
vs. Arkansas State // Earl K. Long Gym // 6 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 9
vs. Little Rock // Earl K. Long Gym // 6 p.m.

Match Notes (PDF): Louisiana | Arkansas State | Little Rock
Rosters: Louisiana | Arkansas State | Little Rock
Schedules: Louisiana | Arkansas State | Little Rock
Stats (PDF): Louisiana | Arkansas State | Little Rock
TV: ESPN+
Live Video: Friday | Saturday
Live Stats: Friday | Saturday
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsVB

SET POINTS

The 2021 season serves as the inaugural campaign for Louisiana with head coach Kristi Gray, who was hired on April 26 after five highly successful seasons at Odessa College.
This weekend set continues a stretch of five straight divisional matchups vs. SBC West foes which concludes next Tuesday (Oct. 12) at ULM.
Louisiana enters the weekend atop the Sun Belt West standings. Last Saturday's historic win at Texas State vaulted the Ragin' Cajuns into first place.
The Ragin' Cajuns have had recent success against this weekend's foes, winning five of the last seven matches vs. Arkansas State and five of the last six meetings with Little Rock.
It's the second homestand of the season for Louisiana. The squad debut at E.K. Long on Sept. 21 with a sweep of Lamar, then split a Sun Belt set with Georgia State and Georgia Southern (Sept. 24-25).
Louisiana, Arkansas State and South Alabama are the only Sun Belt teams yet to be dealt a straight sets defeat during the 2021 season..
The Ragin' Cajuns have claimed the first set nine times in the season's first 12 matches.
Louisiana possesses one of the Sun Belt's most efficient offenses, leading the league with a .241 hitting percentage and ranking Top 3 in kills per set (13.2).
Kelsey Bennett has emerged as the leader of Louisiana's offense. Bennett is averaging 4.0 kills per set on a .279 hitting percentage.
Kelsey Bennett is seven digs shy of registering her third consecutive 200-200 season of kills and digs. Entering the weekend, Bennett has amassed 202 kills and 193 digs.
Cami Hicks was a driving force behind the weekend sweep in Texas, totaling 16 blocks over 18 sets. She posted a career-high nine blocks at Texas State.
Coco Gillett helped the Cajuns finish off the matches with UTA and Texas State, totaling five kills in both of the deciding sets.
Setters Siena DeCambra and Reka Kotorman direct the Cajuns' 6-2 offense. Together they led the team to at least 12 kills in every set at Texas State.

NUMBERS TO KNEAUX
7: Outside hitters Kelsey Bennett (4.0 kills/set) and Coco Gillett (3.2 kills/set) combine to produce an average of seven-plus kills per set for the Ragin' Cajuns offense.
9: Kelsey Bennett owns a team-leading nine (9) double-doubles through the season's first 12 matches. She's increased her career total to 27 double-doubles.
+21: One of the key factors in Louisiana's success has been its positive differential at the service line. The squad owns 21 more service aces (84) than service errors (63).

UP NEXT
Louisiana concludes the first round of matchups against its fellow Sun Belt West Division members on Tuesday, Oct. 12 in Monroe at ULM. First serve from Fant-Ewing Coliseum is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Following the visit to Monroe, the Ragin' Cajuns remain on the road traveling to the East Coast for matches with Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina from Friday-Sunday, Oct. 15-17.

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 -

Homestanding Louisiana Volleyball Seeks to Protect Early Lead in SBC West

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kelsey Bennett

Siena DeCambra

Coco Gillett

Cami Hicks

Reka Kotorman

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University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Homestanding Louisiana Volleyball Seeks to Protect Early Lead in SBC West

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kelsey Bennett

Siena DeCambra

Coco Gillett

Cami Hicks

Reka Kotorman

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