University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Celeste Darling Returning to Louisiana Volleyball in Fall 2022
6/21/2022 10:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Houston transfer played her freshman season with the Ragin’ Cajuns in 2019
LAFAYETTE – Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball head coach Kristi Gray announced on Tuesday (June 21) the addition of Celeste Darling (McKinney, Texas) to the program's roster for the upcoming 2022 season this fall.
Darling, who was on the University of Houston's roster in 2020 and 2021, is returning to Louisiana where she launched her collegiate career back in 2019 with the Ragin' Cajuns.
An outside hitter, Darling has two seasons of eligibility available to compete for Louisiana starting with the 2022 campaign.
"We are very excited to get Celeste back in our gym," Gray remarked. "For those who think her name looks familiar, she spent her freshman year here and was the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic MVP.
"She brings experience and a wealth of knowledge from a high-level program (Houston)," Gray added. "Celeste will add the depth to this roster we needed."
Over the past two seasons away from Cajun Country, the McKinney (Texas) Boyd HS product helped lead Houston to the American Athletic Conference West Division title in the 2020-21 season and a 20-win season last fall.
She competed in 16 matches and played in 56 sets during the Cougars' division title run of '20-21, finishing the season third on the team with 2.05 kills per set.
In the 2021 season, Darling finished with the third-most matches started (13) amongst the Cougars roster. She posted four different four-block matches and one double-digit kill night at Cincinnati (Oct. 22).
The last time that she wore the Ragin' Cajuns uniform, Darling made an appearance in 28 of Louisiana's 30 matches during her freshman season in 2019 and delivered a 200-kills season.
Her rookie campaign was highlighted by her being awarded the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic Tournament MVP, Sun Belt Freshman of the Week (Sept. 9, 2019) and a career-high 20 kills vs. App State (Oct. 4, 2019). She surpassed the .200 hitting percentage mark in each of her six double-digit kill efforts.
Darling competed in 120 matches for McKinney Boyd HS, and landed 412 kills on a .286 hitting percentage in her final season with the Broncos. Her prep career-ending stat line also included 68 blocks and 83 digs. She was a 2016 and 2017 honorable mention all-district selection and three-time academic all-district award recipient.
Darling is the third transfer addition picked up by Gray in advance of the 2022 season. She joins Mya Wilson (Georgia Southern) and Paige Guidry (Nicholls) who joined the program in January 2022.
ABOUT LOUISIANA
Much like the success experienced in her five-year tenure at Odessa College prior to Louisiana, Kristi Gray orchestrated instant success with the Ragin' Cajuns (15-11, 9-7 Sun Belt) in the 2021 season.
Boosted by a clean sweep of the first round of SBC West Division play, which included the program's first-ever win over Texas State in San Marcos, Louisiana started conference play 6-1 and was in contention for the division title entering the month of November.
Louisiana operated one of the Sun Belt's most efficient and exciting offenses by utilizing Gray's up-tempo system. The team led the conference in hitting percentage through Oct. 23, remaining in the Top 5 through season's end and finishing at .230 which is the program's rally era record.
The Ragin' Cajuns return many key pieces to their productive offense including the leading point producers in outside hitters Kelsey Bennett and Coco Gillett, bring back the one-two middle blocker punch of Kara Barnes and Cami Hicks, and have setters Siena DeCambra and Reka Kotorman to once again guide the offense.
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.
Darling, who was on the University of Houston's roster in 2020 and 2021, is returning to Louisiana where she launched her collegiate career back in 2019 with the Ragin' Cajuns.
An outside hitter, Darling has two seasons of eligibility available to compete for Louisiana starting with the 2022 campaign.
"We are very excited to get Celeste back in our gym," Gray remarked. "For those who think her name looks familiar, she spent her freshman year here and was the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic MVP.
"She brings experience and a wealth of knowledge from a high-level program (Houston)," Gray added. "Celeste will add the depth to this roster we needed."
Over the past two seasons away from Cajun Country, the McKinney (Texas) Boyd HS product helped lead Houston to the American Athletic Conference West Division title in the 2020-21 season and a 20-win season last fall.
She competed in 16 matches and played in 56 sets during the Cougars' division title run of '20-21, finishing the season third on the team with 2.05 kills per set.
In the 2021 season, Darling finished with the third-most matches started (13) amongst the Cougars roster. She posted four different four-block matches and one double-digit kill night at Cincinnati (Oct. 22).
The last time that she wore the Ragin' Cajuns uniform, Darling made an appearance in 28 of Louisiana's 30 matches during her freshman season in 2019 and delivered a 200-kills season.
Her rookie campaign was highlighted by her being awarded the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic Tournament MVP, Sun Belt Freshman of the Week (Sept. 9, 2019) and a career-high 20 kills vs. App State (Oct. 4, 2019). She surpassed the .200 hitting percentage mark in each of her six double-digit kill efforts.
Darling competed in 120 matches for McKinney Boyd HS, and landed 412 kills on a .286 hitting percentage in her final season with the Broncos. Her prep career-ending stat line also included 68 blocks and 83 digs. She was a 2016 and 2017 honorable mention all-district selection and three-time academic all-district award recipient.
Darling is the third transfer addition picked up by Gray in advance of the 2022 season. She joins Mya Wilson (Georgia Southern) and Paige Guidry (Nicholls) who joined the program in January 2022.
ABOUT LOUISIANA
Much like the success experienced in her five-year tenure at Odessa College prior to Louisiana, Kristi Gray orchestrated instant success with the Ragin' Cajuns (15-11, 9-7 Sun Belt) in the 2021 season.
Boosted by a clean sweep of the first round of SBC West Division play, which included the program's first-ever win over Texas State in San Marcos, Louisiana started conference play 6-1 and was in contention for the division title entering the month of November.
Louisiana operated one of the Sun Belt's most efficient and exciting offenses by utilizing Gray's up-tempo system. The team led the conference in hitting percentage through Oct. 23, remaining in the Top 5 through season's end and finishing at .230 which is the program's rally era record.
The Ragin' Cajuns return many key pieces to their productive offense including the leading point producers in outside hitters Kelsey Bennett and Coco Gillett, bring back the one-two middle blocker punch of Kara Barnes and Cami Hicks, and have setters Siena DeCambra and Reka Kotorman to once again guide the offense.
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 -
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