University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Friday, August 27
Hattiesburg, Miss.
12:30 p.m.

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns

vs

Southern Illinois

Game Coverage:
TV Network Live Stats
Kristi Gray at Red-White Scrimmage 8.19.21

New Season, New Era for Louisiana Volleyball Begins at Southern Miss Classic

8/26/2021 3:53:00 PM | Volleyball

Match Notes (PDF)Watch ($)Live Stats

Ragin' Cajuns officially begin first season of the Kristi Gray era

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Louisiana Volleyball officially opens the 2021 season and the Kristi Gray era when the team competes in the Southern Miss Classic from Friday-Saturday, Aug. 27-28 at the Wellness Center on the USM campus in Hattiesburg.
 
The Ragin' Cajuns are slated to take part in four matches during the opening weekend of the collegiate volleyball season, starting on Friday with a 12:30 p.m. contest vs. Southern Illinois.
 
Every match in the Southern Miss Classic is being streamed on CUSA.tv (subscription fees apply).
 
THE MATCHES
Louisiana at Southern Miss Classic
Friday-Saturday, Aug. 27-28, 2021  |  Hattiesburg, Miss.
Wellness Center
 
Friday, Aug. 27, 2021
vs. Southern Illinois  //  Hattiesburg, Miss.  //  12:30 p.m.
vs. USC Upstate  //  Hattiesburg, Miss.  //  5:30 p.m.
 
Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021
vs. Mississippi Valley  //  Hattiesburg, Miss.  //  9:30 a.m.
at Southern Miss  //  Hattiesburg, Miss.  //  5 p.m.
 
Match Notes (PDF): Louisiana
Video: CUSA.tv ($)
Live Stats: SouthernMiss.com
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsVB
 
SET POINTS
  • Louisiana begins a new era during the 2021 season, as Kristi Gray's inaugural season marks the first time a new leader is on the sidelines since 2008.
  • The Ragin' Cajuns trip to the Southern Miss Classic marks the first of three road trips to begin the 2021 season. The first home match is set for Sept. 21 vs. Lamar.
  • Kristi Gray, hired on April 26, 2021 after five highly successful seasons at Odessa College, makes her official debut as the head coach of the Ragin' Cajuns in the season opener on Aug. 27 vs. Southern Illinois.
  • The Ragin' Cajuns roster makeup is a near-even blend of eight returning players and nine newcomers.
  • Leading the returners is 2020 All-Sun Belt performers Kelsey Bennett and Kara Barnes plus two-year starting libero Hannah Ramirez.
  • The newcomer corps is headlined by Odessa College transfers Siena DeCambra and Emery Judkins who followed Kristi Gray to Louisiana and DI transfers Coco Gillett (SFA), Chinelo Ogogor (Wichita State) and Jordan Valley (South Florida).
  • The main keyword for Kristi Gray is "ENERGY" and it should make for an exciting brand of volleyball produced by the Ragin' Cajuns.
  • Following a year of scheduling adjustments due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the customary pre-conference tournament weekends have returned to the collegiate volleyball schedule.
 
NUMBERS TO KNEAUX
1: The 2021 season marks the first of the Kristi Gray era for Louisiana Volleyball. It's the first time since 2008 that the program has a new leader on the sidelines.
36: Senior libero Hannah Ramirez enters the 2021 season with an active streak of 36 consecutive matches recording double-digit digs (dates back to Oct. 2019)
200: Junior outside hitter Kelsey Bennett has generated a 200-200 season of kills and digs each of the past two seasons.
 
UP NEXT
Louisiana will be in Nacogdoches, Texas, from Friday-Saturday, Sept. 3-4 competing in a tournament hosted by Stephen F. Austin at Shelton Gym on the SFA campus.
 
The Ragin' Cajuns are scheduled to face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (11 a.m.) and Stephen F. Austin (6:30 p.m.) on the opening day of the tournament, then complete play on Saturday meeting Northern Arizona at 11 a.m.
 
The SFA event marks the first of back-to-back trips to the state of Texas, as the following week Louisiana ventures to Edinburg for the UTRGV Tournament.
 
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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Southern Illinois
W, 3-0

Aug 27 (Fri)

12:30 p.m.
Box ScoreRecapBox Score (PDF)C-USATV ($)PreviewLive stats
Full Schedule

Players Mentioned

10

Kara Barnes

MB
/ Volleyball
6

Kelsey Bennett

OH
/ Volleyball
1

Siena DeCambra

S
/ Volleyball
23

Coco Gillett

OH
/ Volleyball
16

Emery Judkins

RS
/ Volleyball
18

Chinelo Ogogor

MB/RS
/ Volleyball
7

Hannah Ramirez

DS/L
/ Volleyball
24

Jordan Valley

DS
/ Volleyball

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