Near-Miss in Hard-Fought Battle Concludes Historic Postseason Berth for Louisiana

EDINBURG, Texas – In a match where neither team led by more than six points at any moment, and there were 28 ties and 11 lead changes, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball team fell just short in its final push to overtake South Dakota State as the Jackrabbits held on for a 3-2 (25-19, 19-25, 23-25, 25-20, 16-14) in the opening round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.

Louisiana (15-13) recovered from a 10-6 deficit in the winner-take-all frame, storming back with a Kara Barnes kill, Celeste Darling score and a Reka Kotorman ace before an SDSU attack error evened the set at 10-all.

The Jackrabbits (18-14) answered quickly with back-to-back tallies, but the Ragin' Cajuns were relentless in their pursuit fighting back for ties at 13-all and 14-all with kills from Darling and Lauryn Hill. SDSU, though, picked up the timely side out each time with the last being a Masa Scheierman kill down the line for match point.

SDSU held an ever-so slight 67-63 advantage in kills and out-hit Louisiana .261-.219 to win a match where very little separated the two teams.

The loss spoiled the historic postseason debut in a national tournament for Louisiana which took the court in December for the first time in program history.

The path to a deciding fifth set was put in motion after Louisiana didn't back down after SDSU closed Set 1 with a 6-0 run to break free from a 19-all tie and claim an early lead in the match.

After trading blows early in Set 2, Coco Gillett kept Louisiana one step ahead after lofting over a shot into an opening in the middle for a 15-13 lead at the media timeout. The Ragin' Cajuns continued to gain separation after Emery Judkins had a hand in a block, then beat the SDSU block to extend the separation to 18-14.

After Judkins preserved the spacing by besting the Jackrabbits block again for a 21-17 lead, Louisiana turned to Darling who provided back-to-back kills upping the lead to 24-19 and sealing the equalizer.

Offense ruled play in Set 3, with both teams producing 19 kills, but it wound up being a service miscue that proved detrimental. The mishap committed by SDSU kept the Ragin' Cajuns ahead 24-22 and two rallies later it was Judkins powering down a kill to deny the Jackrabbits the chance for extra points and provide Louisiana the match lead.

The Jackrabbits stayed alive by keeping the offense alive in Set 4, producing 17 kills on a .324 hitting percentage while limiting Louisiana to 12 kills and a .150 hitting percentage. SDSU gained ample breathing room out of the media timeout as a pair of Ragin' Cajuns attack errors factored into the lead being stretched to 18-13.

LEADING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Gillett paced Louisiana's efforts with 14 kills and 20 digs, collecting a double-double for the ninth consecutive outing. She added a pair of aces and blocks to her stat line.

Darling kept up her increased productivity at the right side hitter's slot with 12 kills, reaching double digits for the seventh time in the past nine matches.

Judkins and Hill both delivered seven kills off 14 swings with only one error in providing sparks late.

In the middle, Barnes (10) and Cami Hicks (8) combined for 18 kills on just 35 swings. The middle blocker duo finished tied with a match-leading four blocks.

Playing her final match as a Ragin' Cajun, Kelsey Bennett had three kills and six digs in four sets of action.

Kotorman passed out 32 assists, her second-highest total of the season, and contributed 11 digs for her third double-double.

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Near-Miss in Hard-Fought Battle Concludes Historic Postseason Berth for Louisiana

Team Stats

Coco Gillett

Celeste Darling

Kara Barnes

Cami Hicks

Players Mentioned

Kara Barnes

Kelsey Bennett

Celeste Darling

Coco Gillett

Cami Hicks

Lauryn Hill

Emery Judkins

Reka Kotorman

Players Mentioned

Kara Barnes

Kelsey Bennett

Celeste Darling

Coco Gillett

Cami Hicks

Lauryn Hill

Emery Judkins

Reka Kotorman

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