Louisiana Hosts ULM in Matchup of In-State Sun Belt Foes

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball team returns to play within the Sun Belt West Division with a Friday-Saturday, October 27-28 series at E.K. Long Gym against in-state conference foe ULM.

The Ragin' Cajuns (13-11, 4-6 Sun Belt) are playing the first of back-to-back SBC West series (also travel to Southern Miss Nov. 2-3) that'll determine the team's seed in the upcoming SBC Tournament. Louisiana is two wins shy of clinching a bye from the first round contests.

First serve in UL-ULM series is set for 6:00 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 27) and 1:00 p.m. on Saturday (Oct. 28). Live coverage is available on ESPN+ and CajunStats.com.

The series opener is Faculty Appreciation Night highlighted by a teacher prize pack raffle and includes a recognition of the Sun Belt champion Ragin' Cajuns Softball team at intermission. The Saturday contest is designated as the Louisiana Salutes match – with fans encouraged to wear black – featuring a dog tag giveaway and military recognition.

Admission to all UL Volleyball home matches throughout the season is free and open to the public. Parking, free of charge, is available in the parking lots surrounding E.K. Long Gym.

Louisiana looks to build upon one of its most dominant performances in Sun Belt play. Last Friday at ODU the Cajuns snapped a three-match losing streak by out-killing the Monarchs 60-39 and out-working them with a 69-42 advantage in digs.

Opposite hitter Celeste Darling and libero Mio Yamamoto have been the Cajuns recent headliners. Darling is coming off back-to-back matches at ODU where she either matched or set her Sun Belt-play high in kills, totaling 32 in the series, while Yamamoto has collected 20-plus digs four times in the past three weeks.

Balance has been the mainstay for Louisiana's success this season. Five different players have posted 100 kills, led by the duo of Shyia Richardson (281 kills) and Darling (222 kills) at outside and opposite hitter, and four different players have collected at least 150 digs, led by Yamamoto (335 digs) and defensive specialist Kennedy Gustafson (240 digs).

ULM (4-20, 0-10 Sun Belt) is led by middle blocker Logan Jeffus who is second on the squad with 205 kills and has a .305 hitting percentage – all while leading the Warhawks at the net with 51 total blocks (16 BS, 35 BA). She's joined in leading the ULM offense by Brynn Botkin's 218 kills at outside hitter.

THE MATCHUPS
Friday, Oct. 27 vs. ULM // E.K. Long Gym // 6:00 p.m.
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Twitter Updates

Saturday, Oct. 28 vs. ULM // E.K. Long Gym // 1:00 p.m.
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Twitter Updates

Match Notes (PDF): Louisiana
Rosters: Louisiana | ULM
Schedules: Louisiana | ULM
Stats (PDF): Louisiana | ULM

SERIES HISTORY
- ULM: Louisiana leads, 59-21 | Last match: W, 3-1 on 10/29/2022 in Monroe, La.
Sun Belt Matches: UL leads, 31-5
Current Streak: UL +10

SERVICE ACES
>> Louisiana closes out October hosting in-state Sun Belt foe ULM at E.K. Long from October 27-28.
>> The matchup with ULM is one of only three remaining SBC series in the regular season.
>> The Cajuns seek to solidify their positioning in seeding for the SBC Tournament – and clinch a bye from the first round matches (6 seeds vs. 7 seeds).
>> UL also seeks its first home conference wins of the season. In the previous two SBC series at E.K. Long, the Cajuns faced the SBC West's Top 2 (Troy & USA).
>> UL has won the last 10 matches, overall, with ULM. The last loss occurred in November 2018 in Monroe.
>> The Cajuns have also won the last seven matches over the Warhawks in E.K. Long, dating back to 2015.
>> Celeste Darling both matched and set her Sun Belt-play high in kills at ODU – the 18 kills in Friday's win also marking a season-high total.
>> Libero Mio Yamamoto has hit 20 digs in four of the last six matches, and double digits eight straight.
>> Shyia Richardson, sitting at 281 kills, has picked up her third consecutive 200-plus kills season of her collegiate career (started at San Francisco).
>> Shyia Richardson needs 19 more kills for the first 300-kills season of her collegiate career.
>> Setter Siena DeCambra currently ranks Top 20 nationally with 851 assists – one of only 19 players nationwide to reach 850 entering the week.
>> Siena DeCambra collected her 2,000th assist with Louisiana the last match at E.K. Long (Oct. 14 vs. USA).
>> Kara Barnes hit .310-plus the previous three seasons, tallying 150-plus kills each time. She's currently hitting .344 and has 161 kills.
>> Celeste Darling has set a new personal single-season mark in total kills, her current total of 222 surpassing the previous-best 207 from last season.
>> Cami Hicks (329) and Kara Barnes (312) rank No. 3 and 4, respectively, in UL's rally scoring era charts for career blocks. Hicks has an additional season to chase Kim Rodgers' record 396 blocks.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Louisiana travels to Hattiesburg, Mississippi for a two-match series against Southern Miss where the two teams will battle for seeding position within the Sun Belt West for the upcoming conference tournament.

First serve in the Thursday-Friday, November 2-3 series at the Southern Miss Wellness Center is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. both nights.

It's the first SBC series in Hattiesburg between the two programs. The Cajuns and Golden Eagles split the series during initial conference meeting held last season at E.K. Long Gym.

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 Hosts ULM in Matchup of In-State Sun Belt Foes

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Players Mentioned

Kara Barnes

Celeste Darling

Siena DeCambra

Kennedy Gustafson

Cami Hicks

Shyia Richardson

Mio Yamamoto

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