South Escapes from Slugfest with Louisiana

LAFAYETTE – For the second straight day South Alabama parlayed a win in Set 2 into a match victory as the visiting Jaguars came away with a 3-1 (25-21, 27-25, 23-25, 25-10) win over the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball team on Saturday, October 14 at E.K. Long Gym.

Just like Friday night, the second set victory allowed USA (17-3, 8-0 Sun Belt) to grab hold of a 2-0 match lead. The result proved crucial as the host-Ragin' Cajuns (12-10, 3-5 Sun Belt) would come back to claim Set 3 – the previous frame outcome being the difference in the Jaguars holding the lead heading into Set 4.

The near-miss for the Cajuns in evening the match came after an ace from Cami Hicks provided a 25-24 advantage. South managed to score the next three points, capitalizing on a UL block catching the antenna for set point.

South Alabama's vaunted hitting percentage defense showed up in the rematch, limiting the Ragin' Cajuns to .088 hitting (42 K, 29 E, 147 TA) a day removed from yielding a .245 clip.

UL wound up holding the edge in what turned out to be a defensive slugfest, the Ragin' Cajuns out-digging USA 67-62 and out-blocking the Jags 15.0-13.0. The trio of Cami Hicks (8), Celeste Darling (6) and Mya Wilson (6) each posted six blocks for Louisiana.

The Jaguars stretched their series win streak over the Cajuns to five straight matches dating back to 2021. USA swept the two-match SBC series from UL for the second straight season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
South pulled off a role reversal in Set 1 to jump on the board first. The Cajuns scored the first five points of the afternoon only to have the Jaguars answer with a five-point spurt of their own to level the score at 7-all. Play went back-and-forth until USA pulled ahead for good at 17-14 with a 3-0 run sparked by a kill from Maddie Soboleski.

The two teams continued to trade jabs throughout Set 2, the largest lead not occurring until a Cajuns service error put USA up 23-18. Abby Cunningham won service back with a kill for the first of four straight points that sliced the deficit to a single point, then facing set point a kill from Darling and combo block from Kara Barnes and Wilson prompted extra points.

Hicks' ace placed Louisiana on the verge of evening things up, however a subsequent service error gave the Jags new life and the visitors capitalized.

Louisiana continued to fight and brushed off the disappointing end to Set 2, persevering through six lead changes early in Set 3. The Cajuns broke away following the media timeout after back-to-back kills from Barnes and Cunningham made 18-14.

This time around South avoided a fifth set, capitalizing on a pair of Cajuns miscues to start Set 4 and later stretching out an 8-5 lead with six unanswered points.

LEADING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
With nine kills it was Cunningham leading the group of six Cajuns who posted at least five kills.

Hicks' season-high tying eight blocks (0 BS, 8 BA) led the way as Louisiana totaled a team season-high total of 15.0 blocks.

Darling also turned in her season-high blocks total (3 BS, 3 BA), the six stuffs pushing her past the 200-mark in her collegiate career. For Wilson, her six blocks marked the 15th match with multiple blocks and pushed her season total past 50 in a single season for the fifth time in as many seasons as a collegiate volleyball player.

Setter Siena Decambra produced a double-double of 34 assists and 10 digs, her sixth double-double of the season. The assists total pushed her past 2,000 with Louisiana, increasing her total as a Ragin' Cajuns to 2,003.

Mio Yamamoto (16 digs) and Kennedy Gustafson (12 digs) joined DeCambra with double-figure digs. The five digs rounded up by Shyia Richardson moved her past 500 in her collegiate career.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Louisiana steps outside of the Sun Belt West Division for the first time in conference play, traveling to Norfolk, Virginia to face SBC East member Old Dominion (9-13, 1-7 Sun Belt) in a two-match series from Thursday-Friday, October 19-20 at the ODU Volleyball Center.

It'll be the Ragin' Cajuns first appearance in the ODU Volleyball Center. Matches are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. (CDT) both nights in Norfolk.

The ODU series marks the start of the second half of Sun Belt play. The Cajuns-Monarchs matchups will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live stats available at CajunStats.com.

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 -

South Escapes from Slugfest with Louisiana

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Team Stats

Abby Cunningham

Shyia Richardson

Kara Barnes

Mya Wilson

Players Mentioned

Kara Barnes

Abby Cunningham

Celeste Darling

Kennedy Gustafson

Cami Hicks

Shyia Richardson

Mya Wilson

Mio Yamamoto

Players Mentioned

Kara Barnes

Abby Cunningham

Celeste Darling

Kennedy Gustafson

Cami Hicks

Shyia Richardson

Mya Wilson

Mio Yamamoto

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