First Sun Belt Road Trip Takes Louisiana Volleyball to Texas

ARLINGTON, Texas – The month of October begins with the first road tests of the Sun Belt Conference slate for Louisiana Volleyball, bringing the squad to Sun Belt West Division foes UT Arlington and Texas State from Friday-Saturday, Oct. 1-2.

On Friday (Oct. 1), the Ragin' Cajuns (6-4, 1-1 Sun Belt) take on UT Arlington (2-9, 0-2 Sun Belt) at the College Park Center in Arlington. That will be followed by a visit to San Marcos on Saturday (Oct. 2) to meet Texas State (5-10, 1-1 Sun Belt) at Strahan Arena.

The trip to Texas marks the second weekend of Sun Belt Conference play which is still in the early stages. Last weekend, the Ragin' Cajuns split with Georgia State and Georgia Southern at Earl K. Long Gym to kick off conference play, defeating the Panthers in four sets and falling in five sets to the Eagles.

Entering the second weekend of conference play the Ragin' Cajuns are locked in a five-way tie for the SBC West lead. Each division squad split on opening weekend except for UTA which was swept by South Alabama and Troy.

Louisiana last appeared in a road setting back on Sept. 9-11 at the UTRGV Tournament when the squad faced the host-Vaqueros, Texas Southern and Incarnate Word.

A live stream of both contests is available on ESPN+ and live stats can be accessed at CajunStats.com.

THE MATCHUPS
Friday, Oct. 1
at UT Arlington // Arlington, Texas (College Park Center) // 6 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 2
at Texas State // San Marcos, Texas (Strahan Arena) // 6 p.m.

Match Notes (PDF): Louisiana
Rosters: Louisiana | UT Arlington | Texas State
Schedules: Louisiana | UT Arlington | Texas State
Stats: Louisiana | UT Arlington | Texas State
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.
The Ragin' Cajuns trip to Texas marks the team's first road matches in Sun Belt play, and it's the start of five straight matchups with Sun Belt West foes.
The Texas trip is a Homecoming for two of Louisiana's coaching staff members. Assistant Jazmyne Johnson is from the Dallas area (DeSoto)and head coach Kristi Gray grew up nearby San Marcos in Wimberley.
Louisiana's roster includes 10 players from the state of Texas. Kelsey Bennett (Allen), Kara Barnes (Rowlett) and Hannah Ramirez (Waxahachie) are products of the Dallas area, while Chinelo Ogogor (San Antonio), Coco Gillett (Bryan) and Emery Judkins (Waco) hail from the San Marcos region.
Louisiana has won five of the last six matches vs. UTA in Arlington. In San Marcos, the program seeks its first-ever win on the Bobcats' home floor.
The Ragin' Cajuns have claimed the first set eight times in the season's first 10 matches.
Louisiana has hit .200-plus in nine of the first 10 matches and currently leads the Sun Belt with a .261 season hitting percentage.
Kelsey Bennett has emerged as the leader of Louisiana's offense. Bennett is averaging 4.0 kills per set on a .291 hitting percentage.
Kelsey Bennett has generated 20-plus kills four times early in the season, including a career-high 27 kills back on Sept. 9 at UTRGV.
Coco Gillett (transfer from SFA) enjoyed a highly successful Sun Belt debut last weekend, opening league play with a season-high 19 kills vs. Georgia State followed by 15 more kills vs. Georgia Southern.
Coco Gillett has an active streak of five straight matches of double-digit kills (averaging 3.5 kills/set).
Chinelo Ogogor is beginning to find her place in the Ragin' Cajuns offense. She scored a season-high eight kills in each of the last two matches.

NUMBERS TO KNEAUX
3: The Ragin' Cajuns blocking efforts are led by three individuals who have already surpassed 20 total blocks: Kara Barnes, Cami Hicks and Chinelo Ogogor.
6: Kelsey Bennett owns a team-leading seven (7) double-doubles through the season's first 10 matches. She's increased her career total to 25 double-doubles.
13: The Ragin' Cajuns offense has finished a match at or above 13-kills per set seven times in 10 outings. The unit is tied for the Sun Belt lead at 13.5 kills per set.

UP NEXT
Louisiana returns home to Earl K. Long Gym for another weekend of Sun Belt West Division battles, meeting Arkansas State and Little Rock from Friday-Saturday, Oct. 8-9.

The Ragin' Cajuns face the Red Wolves on Friday (Oct. 8) followed by a matchup with the Trojans on Saturday (Oct. 9). Both matches are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

The weekend set continues a stretch of five straight divisional matchups against SBC West foes that concludes on Tuesday, Oct. 12 in Monroe at ULM.

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 -

First Sun Belt Road Trip Takes Louisiana Volleyball to Texas

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kara Barnes

Kelsey Bennett

Coco Gillett

Cami Hicks

Emery Judkins

Chinelo Ogogor

Hannah Ramirez

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University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

First Sun Belt Road Trip Takes Louisiana Volleyball to Texas

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kara Barnes

Kelsey Bennett

Coco Gillett

Cami Hicks

Emery Judkins

Chinelo Ogogor

Hannah Ramirez

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