University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Friday, October 13
Lafayette
6:00 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
12-9, 3-4SBC
2
vs
3
South Alabama
16-3, 7-0SBC
1
2
3
4
5
F
South Alabama
25
25
19
21
15
3
Louisiana
21
22
25
25
9
2
Ragin’ Cajuns Comeback Halted by Late Jaguars Recovery
10/13/2023 10:16:00 PM | Volleyball
Louisiana’s offense outperformed South Alabama’s unit and tested the Sun Belt’s top defense
LAFAYETTE – For the second straight Friday the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball team was on the comeback trail and had the opposition backed into a corner, however South Alabama led wire-to-wire in the fifth set to avoid a reverse sweep and capture a 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 19-25, 15-9) win on Friday, October 13 at E.K. Long Gym.
Louisiana (12-9, 3-4 Sun Belt) peppered the Sun Belt's top hitting percentage defense with 31 kills on .371 hitting in erasing a 2-0 match deficit. The Cajuns hit .245 for the match (65 K, 26 E, 159 TA), which was the highest the Jags have yielded in SBC play and only the third time all season the opposition hit .200-plus.
The Cajuns exceptional play and remarkable comeback attempt, though, would be spoiled as the Jaguars (16-3, 7-0 Sun Belt) recovered in the fifth set. USA scored the first three points of the winner-take-all frame and never trailed.
A Shyia Richardson kill sliced the Jaguars fifth-set edge to 11-9, but unlike the previous two frames a comeback wasn't meant to be for Louisiana as the visitors won the final four rallies to claim the instant thriller.
Louisiana's near-miss of handing South Alabama its first conference loss came down to a set-ending 13-3 run that allowed the Jags to erased a 19-12 deficit in Set 2 and open the two-set advantage.
The Cajuns won the battle of the SBC's Top 2 offensive units, finishing with a 65-61 edge in kills. USA's efficiency was the difference maker as the Jags hit .273.
South Alabama extended its series win streak over Louisiana to four matches. The loss kept the Ragin' Cajuns winless at home in Sun Belt play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Jags broke open a one-point set in the opener as four kills and an ace opened a 16-10 lead. The Cajuns rallied within three points, at 24-21 after a USA miscue, but Hannah Maddux ended the set with a kill.
It was Louisiana with a 5-0 run in Set 2 to forge ahead 10-8 and was seemingly in control after a combo block from Cami Hicks and Richardson made it 15-9. A kill from Hicks later on made it 19-12 before the Jaguars roared back with seven unanswered to make it a race to 25.
The Cajuns got on the board in Set 3 as a balanced attack – four kills from Emery Judkins and three apiece from Richardson and Kara Barnes – resulted in 14 kills on .440 hitting (14 K, 3 E, 25 TA).
UL worked through 10 ties and three lead changes in Set 4 to draw even. Out of the media timeout it was Barnes leveling the score at 15-all with a kill, then a pair of Kennedy Gustafson aces and Celeste Darling kills provided the lead for good stretching it out to 19-15.
LEADING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Richardson scored 19 kills and took the bulk of the Cajuns swings with 49. She finished two kill shy of matching her career-high total which was last recorded in the five-set win at Texas State last Saturday.
Barnes and Hicks were the other Cajuns to hit double figures in kills, with 11 and 10 respectively. Hicks posted a match-leading five blocks.
Mio Yamamoto rounded out 20-plus digs for the third straight match against a SBC contender, finishing with 26 digs. She added six assists to her stat line.
Setter Siena DeCambra delivered another all-around performance, handing out 51 assists while scoring five kills, collecting six digs and throwing up three blocks. DeCambra pushed her assists total with Louisiana to 1,969 to move within 31 of hitting the 2,000-mark as a Ragin' Cajun.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin' Cajuns will be in search of a series split on Saturday, October 14 when they return to E.K. Long Gym for the rematch with South Alabama. First serve is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
The series finale is set to stream live on ESPN+ while live stats can be accessed at CajunStats.com.
Louisiana seeks to gain its first home conference win of the season and become the first team to hand the Jaguars a league loss.
Due to Festival Acadiens et Créoles being held simultaneously at Girard Park, volleyball event parking (free of charge) has been adjusted to Zone 7, located between E.K. Long and Dupre Library, and the Olivier Hall Parking Tower on McKinley Street. All other lots on campus will be "pay to park".
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.
Louisiana (12-9, 3-4 Sun Belt) peppered the Sun Belt's top hitting percentage defense with 31 kills on .371 hitting in erasing a 2-0 match deficit. The Cajuns hit .245 for the match (65 K, 26 E, 159 TA), which was the highest the Jags have yielded in SBC play and only the third time all season the opposition hit .200-plus.
The Cajuns exceptional play and remarkable comeback attempt, though, would be spoiled as the Jaguars (16-3, 7-0 Sun Belt) recovered in the fifth set. USA scored the first three points of the winner-take-all frame and never trailed.
A Shyia Richardson kill sliced the Jaguars fifth-set edge to 11-9, but unlike the previous two frames a comeback wasn't meant to be for Louisiana as the visitors won the final four rallies to claim the instant thriller.
Louisiana's near-miss of handing South Alabama its first conference loss came down to a set-ending 13-3 run that allowed the Jags to erased a 19-12 deficit in Set 2 and open the two-set advantage.
The Cajuns won the battle of the SBC's Top 2 offensive units, finishing with a 65-61 edge in kills. USA's efficiency was the difference maker as the Jags hit .273.
South Alabama extended its series win streak over Louisiana to four matches. The loss kept the Ragin' Cajuns winless at home in Sun Belt play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Jags broke open a one-point set in the opener as four kills and an ace opened a 16-10 lead. The Cajuns rallied within three points, at 24-21 after a USA miscue, but Hannah Maddux ended the set with a kill.
It was Louisiana with a 5-0 run in Set 2 to forge ahead 10-8 and was seemingly in control after a combo block from Cami Hicks and Richardson made it 15-9. A kill from Hicks later on made it 19-12 before the Jaguars roared back with seven unanswered to make it a race to 25.
The Cajuns got on the board in Set 3 as a balanced attack – four kills from Emery Judkins and three apiece from Richardson and Kara Barnes – resulted in 14 kills on .440 hitting (14 K, 3 E, 25 TA).
UL worked through 10 ties and three lead changes in Set 4 to draw even. Out of the media timeout it was Barnes leveling the score at 15-all with a kill, then a pair of Kennedy Gustafson aces and Celeste Darling kills provided the lead for good stretching it out to 19-15.
LEADING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Richardson scored 19 kills and took the bulk of the Cajuns swings with 49. She finished two kill shy of matching her career-high total which was last recorded in the five-set win at Texas State last Saturday.
Barnes and Hicks were the other Cajuns to hit double figures in kills, with 11 and 10 respectively. Hicks posted a match-leading five blocks.
Mio Yamamoto rounded out 20-plus digs for the third straight match against a SBC contender, finishing with 26 digs. She added six assists to her stat line.
Setter Siena DeCambra delivered another all-around performance, handing out 51 assists while scoring five kills, collecting six digs and throwing up three blocks. DeCambra pushed her assists total with Louisiana to 1,969 to move within 31 of hitting the 2,000-mark as a Ragin' Cajun.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin' Cajuns will be in search of a series split on Saturday, October 14 when they return to E.K. Long Gym for the rematch with South Alabama. First serve is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
The series finale is set to stream live on ESPN+ while live stats can be accessed at CajunStats.com.
Louisiana seeks to gain its first home conference win of the season and become the first team to hand the Jaguars a league loss.
Due to Festival Acadiens et Créoles being held simultaneously at Girard Park, volleyball event parking (free of charge) has been adjusted to Zone 7, located between E.K. Long and Dupre Library, and the Olivier Hall Parking Tower on McKinley Street. All other lots on campus will be "pay to park".
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
USA
UL
Kills
61
65
Errors
20
26
Attempts
150
159
Hitting %
.273
.245
Points
76.0
77.0
Assists
60
61
Aces
6
4
Blocks
9.0
8.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
19
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB
/ VolleyballOPP
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
OPP
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
L
/ Volleyball
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