University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Thursday, October 20
Lafayette
6:00 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
10-8, 4-5SBC
3
vs
1
Old Dominion
8-12, 3-4SBC
1
2
3
4
F
Old Dominion
27
17
20
23
1
Louisiana
25
25
25
25
3
Determined Ragin’ Cajuns Turn Away ODU in Convincing Fashion
10/20/2022 9:51:00 PM | Volleyball
Louisiana held the lead throughout the entirety of the final two sets
LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball team wasn't fazed by a narrow defeat in the opening set, responding with three consecutive dominating efforts to claim a 3-1 (25-27, 25-17, 25-20, 25-23) win over Old Dominion on Thursday night at Earl K. Long Gym.
The Ragin' Cajuns (10-8, 4-5 Sun Belt) quickly put the opening set behind them landing 12 kills on just 26 swings and a .385 percentage, then followed up with 17 kills on .318 percentage to overtake the Monarchs (8-12, 3-4 Sun Belt) following the third set. A resounding 11-1 start to the fourth set put an exclamation point on the comeback.
Louisiana's efforts in halting its four-match losing streak were charged by sophomore outside hitter Coco Gillett who found the floor for a season-high 18 kills and served up a career-high eight aces.
After battling through 19 ties and 11 lead changes in Set 1, the Ragin' Cajuns were able to establish control quickly the rest of the night starting when back-to-back kills from Gillett and Kara Barnes opened an 11-7 lead in Set 2.
The Ragin' Cajuns were on their way to evening up the match when Barnes scored a kill to hand service to Gillett who delivered a pair of aces while completing the 5-0 run that opened up a 19-11 lead.
Following the Set 2 triumph which forged a match tie, Gillett was the catalyst in Louisiana never facing a deficit again. She collected a side out with a kill and served up two more aces as the Ragin' Cajuns raced out to a 4-0 lead in Set 3.
When the Monarchs climbed within 8-7 it was Gillett to fire off consecutive kills to regain breathing room, and later it was four consecutive kills extending Louisiana's lead to 15-8. ODU made a push slicing the deficit to 20-17, but Lauryn Hill and Cami Hicks came up with kills to fend off the visitor's advances.
Louisiana's grasp of Set 4 was sparked by Gillett who won service back with a kill, then served up eight consecutive points – starting with back-to-back aces – to increase the lead to 11-1. The Ragin' Cajuns remained ahead by eight points or more through 19-11.
Gillett finished off her masterful performance by coming up with Louisiana's final two kills of the night which held off a push from the Monarchs who threatened to send the set into extra points.
The match marked the first-ever meeting between Louisiana and ODU on the volleyball court.
LEADING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Gillett bested her previous season-high of 13 kills (UTRGV and Fairfield) and registered her highest kills output since posting 18 last October vs. South Alabama at E.K. Long Gym. She was one ace shy of matching the program's rally scoring era record of nine set by Taylor Meade in 2011 and three shy of the overall record of 11 set back in the 1980s.
Barnes had an efficient effort of nine kills off of 18 swings with only one error. She pushed her career collegiate kills total past 500 with the effort.
The Ragin' Cajuns remaining four attackers each scored at least six kills in support of Gillett and Barnes. Emery Judkins landed eight kills, Hill and Celeste Darling had seven apiece and Hicks produced six kills.
Paige Guidry collected a match-high 14 digs as she paced Louisiana's efforts for the second straight match while continuing to fill in at libero.
Louisiana out-blocked ODU 6.0-5.0 as five different players had a hand in multiple blocks led by Barnes who was in on three stuffs.
Siena DeCambra (23) and Reka Kotorman (22) both tallied 20-plus assists in leading an efficient offensive attack that saw Louisiana hit .263 (55 K, 19 E, 137 TA).
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin' Cajuns and Monarchs meet again at Earl K. Long Gym to complete their two-match Sun Belt Conference series, taking the court on Friday, October 21. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
Louisiana seeks its first SBC series sweep since the Arkansas State weekend (Sept. 29-30). The contest is set to air on ESPN+.
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.
Fans are also encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.
The Ragin' Cajuns (10-8, 4-5 Sun Belt) quickly put the opening set behind them landing 12 kills on just 26 swings and a .385 percentage, then followed up with 17 kills on .318 percentage to overtake the Monarchs (8-12, 3-4 Sun Belt) following the third set. A resounding 11-1 start to the fourth set put an exclamation point on the comeback.
Louisiana's efforts in halting its four-match losing streak were charged by sophomore outside hitter Coco Gillett who found the floor for a season-high 18 kills and served up a career-high eight aces.
After battling through 19 ties and 11 lead changes in Set 1, the Ragin' Cajuns were able to establish control quickly the rest of the night starting when back-to-back kills from Gillett and Kara Barnes opened an 11-7 lead in Set 2.
The Ragin' Cajuns were on their way to evening up the match when Barnes scored a kill to hand service to Gillett who delivered a pair of aces while completing the 5-0 run that opened up a 19-11 lead.
Following the Set 2 triumph which forged a match tie, Gillett was the catalyst in Louisiana never facing a deficit again. She collected a side out with a kill and served up two more aces as the Ragin' Cajuns raced out to a 4-0 lead in Set 3.
When the Monarchs climbed within 8-7 it was Gillett to fire off consecutive kills to regain breathing room, and later it was four consecutive kills extending Louisiana's lead to 15-8. ODU made a push slicing the deficit to 20-17, but Lauryn Hill and Cami Hicks came up with kills to fend off the visitor's advances.
Louisiana's grasp of Set 4 was sparked by Gillett who won service back with a kill, then served up eight consecutive points – starting with back-to-back aces – to increase the lead to 11-1. The Ragin' Cajuns remained ahead by eight points or more through 19-11.
Gillett finished off her masterful performance by coming up with Louisiana's final two kills of the night which held off a push from the Monarchs who threatened to send the set into extra points.
The match marked the first-ever meeting between Louisiana and ODU on the volleyball court.
LEADING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Gillett bested her previous season-high of 13 kills (UTRGV and Fairfield) and registered her highest kills output since posting 18 last October vs. South Alabama at E.K. Long Gym. She was one ace shy of matching the program's rally scoring era record of nine set by Taylor Meade in 2011 and three shy of the overall record of 11 set back in the 1980s.
Barnes had an efficient effort of nine kills off of 18 swings with only one error. She pushed her career collegiate kills total past 500 with the effort.
The Ragin' Cajuns remaining four attackers each scored at least six kills in support of Gillett and Barnes. Emery Judkins landed eight kills, Hill and Celeste Darling had seven apiece and Hicks produced six kills.
Paige Guidry collected a match-high 14 digs as she paced Louisiana's efforts for the second straight match while continuing to fill in at libero.
Louisiana out-blocked ODU 6.0-5.0 as five different players had a hand in multiple blocks led by Barnes who was in on three stuffs.
Siena DeCambra (23) and Reka Kotorman (22) both tallied 20-plus assists in leading an efficient offensive attack that saw Louisiana hit .263 (55 K, 19 E, 137 TA).
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin' Cajuns and Monarchs meet again at Earl K. Long Gym to complete their two-match Sun Belt Conference series, taking the court on Friday, October 21. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
Louisiana seeks its first SBC series sweep since the Arkansas State weekend (Sept. 29-30). The contest is set to air on ESPN+.
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.
Fans are also encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.
- www.RaginCajuns.com -
Team Stats
ODU
LA
Kills
51
55
Errors
21
19
Attempts
132
137
Hitting %
.227
.263
Points
62.0
73.0
Assists
50
53
Aces
6
12
Blocks
5.0
6.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
18
Aces
8
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
RS
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH/L
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballRS
/ Volleyball
S
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