Louisiana Makes Quest for Sun Belt Volleyball Title in Foley

FOLEY, Ala. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball team opens postseason play at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, meeting App State in the second round of the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Tournament at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex in Foley, Alabama.

The Ragin' Cajuns (14-11, 8-8 Sun Belt) are the No. 5 seed out of the SBC West Division and the Mountaineers (18-9, 11-5 Sun Belt) are the No. 4 seed out of the SBC East Division. The winner plays the West's top seed, Texas State (22-6, 14-2 Sun Belt), on Friday, Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the quarterfinal round.

Louisiana faces a very familiar opponent in its opener in Foley, having just completed regular season play against App State in Boone, North Carolina from November 11-12. The Ragin' Cajuns seek to avenge the series sweep delivered by Mountaineers last weekend.

All 14 Sun Belt Conference volleyball programs have descended upon Foley to compete for the league's tournament title Wednesday-Sunday, Nov. 16-20 at the Foley Events Center. Live video coverage of every match will be available on ESPN Plus.

Louisiana is making its 16th all-time appearance in the Sun Belt Tournament and the second under the direction of Kristi Gray.

The SBC Tournament utilizes a single-elimination format. Louisiana's half of the bracket, headed by SBC West No. 1 seed Texas State, is slotted for the 6:30 p.m. (CST) semifinal contest on Saturday, Nov. 19. The championship match is slated for 1:00 p.m. (CST) on Sunday, Nov. 20.

The Sun Belt Volleyball Tournament features cashless ticketing. Tickets must be purchased online in advance through the Foley Sports Tourism Box Office or on-site.

Tickets are sold on a daily basis and are $10 per day for adults and $5 per day for children ages 12 and under. Students of Sun Belt Conference institutions are admitted free with a valid student ID.

OPENING ROUND MATCHUPS
Thursday, Nov. 17
(5W) Louisiana vs. (4E) App State // Foley, Ala. // 7:30 p.m. (CST)

Friday, Nov. 18
LA-APP winner vs. (1W) Texas State // Foley, Ala. // 7:30 p.m. (CST)

HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: ESPN+
Live Video: WatchESPN.com
Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsVB

SUN BELT TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
First Round – Wednesday, November 16
Match 1 - 2:30 p.m. CST – (6W) Arkansas State vs. (7E) Georgia State [ESPN+]
Match 2 - 5:00 p.m. CST – (6E) Marshall vs. (7W) ULM [ESPN+]

Second Round – Thursday, November 17
Match 3 - 12:00 p.m. CST – (3E) Old Dominion vs. Winner Match 1 [ESPN+]
Match 4 – 2:30 p.m. CST – (4W) Southern Miss vs. (5E) Georgia Southern [ESPN+]
Match 5 – 5:00 p.m. CST – (3W) South Alabama vs. Winner Match 2 [ESPN+]
Match 6 – 7:30 p.m. CST – (4E) App State vs. (5W) Louisiana [ESPN+]

Quarterfinals – Friday, November 18
Match 7 – 12:00 p.m. CST – (2W) Troy vs. Winner Match 3 [ESPN+]
Match 8 – 2:30 p.m. CST – (1E) James Madison vs. Winner Match 4 [ESPN+]
Match 9 – 5:00 p.m. CST – (2E) Coastal Carolina vs. Winner Match 5 [ESPN+]
Match 10 – 7:30 p.m. CST – (1W) Texas State vs. Winner Match 6 [ESPN+]

Semifinals – Saturday, November 19
Match 11 – 4:00 p.m. CST – Winner Match 7 vs. Winner Match 8 [ESPN+]
Match 12 – 6:30 p.m. CST – Winner Match 9 vs. Winner Match 10 [ESPN+]

Championship – Sunday, November 20
Match 13 – 1:00 p.m. CST – Winner Match 11 vs. Winner Match 12 [ESPN+]

LOUISIANA'S SUN BELT TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Appearances: 16 (1991, 1997-2002, 2010, 2012-14, 2017, 2019-22)
All-Time Record: 6-16 (.273)
Best Finish: Semifinals (1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2017)
Last Tournament Match: 11/19/2021 in Foley, Ala. – vs. Coastal Carolina L, 0-3 (24-26, 20-25, 20-25)

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

We Meet (Again): Louisiana and App State meet in the SBC Tournament in Foley for the second straight year (UL won 3-0 last November in a first round matchup). The Ragin' Cajuns are 2-0 all-time vs. the Mountaineers in the SBC Tournament (claimed wins in 2017 and 2021).
Masters of the Domain: The Ragin' Cajuns were a perfect 4-0 in neutral site matches in the regular season.
Group Effort: The Ragin' Cajuns had to adjust in Sun Belt play as 1,100-plus career kills standout Kelsey Bennett was limited by injury (missed Oct. 13 to season's end). It was a group effort for Louisiana in Sun Belt play as six different players produced 80 or more kills (with totals ranging from 80 to 127).
Meet You at the Net: Cami Hicks ranked Top 5 in the SBC in blocks, both overall and in conference play. She has posted a career-best 94 blocks, averaging 1.03 per set.
Picking Up Steam: Coco Gillett posted one of the SBC's strongest finishes, closing with six consecutive double-doubles and double-digit kills eight of the last nine outings. In the second half of SBC play, Coco Gillett scored 94 kills (2.9/set), rounded up 101 digs (3.2/set) and hit .233 over the eight-match stretch.

ALL-SUN BELT HARDWARE
- Middle blocker Cami Hicks earned second team honors on the 2022 All-Sun Belt Conference Volleyball team which was released by the league office on Tuesday, November 15, 2022.
- Hicks, who ranked Top 5 in the Sun Belt in blocks both overall and in conference play during the 2022 regular season, has recorded a personal single-season best of 94 blocks (1.03 per set) – her second straight season with 80-plus blocks.
- Hicks is the third All-Sun Belt performer of the Kristi Gray era, joining 2021 honorees Kelsey Bennett and Coco Gillett. She picked up the first all-conference award of her collegiate career.

NEW FACES
- Kristi Gray welcomed five newcomers to the program in the offseason. Transfers Mya Wilson (Georgia Southern), Paige Guidry (Nicholls), Celeste Darling (Houston) and Paola Garcia (UNLV), plus incoming freshman Lauryn Hill (Frisco, Texas/Liberty HS) as the newest members of the squad.
- Wilson hit .220-plus and accumulated at least 150 kills and 50 blocks each season at Georgia Southern (2019-21). Darling, who returns to Louisiana after competing as a freshman with the Ragin' Cajuns in 2019, helped lead Houston to the American Athletic Conference West Division title in the 2020-21 season and a 20-win season the following fall campaign.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Should Louisiana record wins over App State and Texas State at the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Tournament the squad would advance to the 6:30 p.m. (CST) semifinal round contest on Saturday, November 19 at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex.

The championship match is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. (CST) on Sunday, November 20 live on ESPN Plus.

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 -

Louisiana Makes Quest for Sun Belt Volleyball Title in Foley

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Players Mentioned

Kelsey Bennett

Celeste Darling

Paola Garcia

Coco Gillett

Paige Guidry

Cami Hicks

Lauryn Hill

Mya Wilson

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University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Louisiana Makes Quest for Sun Belt Volleyball Title in Foley

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kelsey Bennett

Celeste Darling

Paola Garcia

Coco Gillett

Paige Guidry

Cami Hicks

Lauryn Hill

Mya Wilson

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