University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Tuesday, August 29
Houston, Texas
6:00 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
at
Rice
Louisiana Meets Nationally Ranked Rice on Tuesday in Houston
8/28/2023 3:08:00 PM | Volleyball
Ragin’ Cajuns set for another early challenge after near-miss at Mississippi State
HOUSTON – The season-opening road trip for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball team continues on Tuesday, August 29 in Houston as the squad meets No. 18 Rice in a 6:00 p.m. match at Tudor Fieldhouse.
The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ with live stats available at CajunStats.com.
Louisiana (2-1) is coming off a runner-up finish on opening weekend (Aug. 25-27) at the StarkVegas Classic, coming within one set victory of taking the title from host-Mississippi State.
The Cajuns offense, an expected strength, generated 13.6 kills per set in Starkville, paced by Shyia Richardson's 4.9 kills per set average.
The Ragin' Cajuns started the season with a streak of eight consecutive sets won, sweeping Northwestern State and Eastern Kentucky before opening a 2-0 set advantage over Mississippi State on Sunday, August 27.
Rice (2-0), which entered the season preseason ranked No. 23, claimed both of its opening weekend matches at Tudor Fieldhouse highlighted by a straight sets sweep of No. 22 USC. For the weekend, Emilia Weske and Danyle Courtley led the way with 28 and 25 kills, respectively.
Tuesday's matchup is the first between the Ragin' Cajuns and Owls since the 2017 Rice Adidas Invitational at Tudor Fieldhouse.
It's the first of two stops in the state of Texas for Louisiana this week. The Cajuns head out to Lubbock later in the week for Texas Tech's Red Raider Classic set for Friday-Saturday, September 1-2.
THE MATCHUP
Tuesday, Aug. 29 at Rice // Houston, Texas // 6:00 p.m.
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Twitter Updates
SERIES HISTORY
- Rice: Rice leads, 9-1 | Last match: L, 0-3 on 9/8/2017 in Houston
Streak: Rice +2
SERVICE ACES
= Louisiana enters the second week of its season-opening three-match road stretch, beginning on Tuesday, Aug. 29 at preseason No. 23 Rice.
= The Cajuns finished as runner-up at the StarkVegas Classic on opening weekend, winning the first eight sets of play and were one set shy of capturing the title from Mississippi State.
= Shyia Richardson headlined the offense in Starkville, generating at least 17 kills in all three matches in totaling 54 over the weekend event.
= Shyia Richardson averaged 4.9 kills per set and scored at least five kills in eight out of 11 sets competed in while in Starkville.
= Setter Siena DeCambra averaged 11.0 assists per set and directed UL's offense to a season-opening streak of eight consecutive sets won.
= Siena DeCambra handed out 39 and 38 assists, respectively, in Louisiana's sweeps of Northwestern State and Eastern Kentucky (12-plus per set).
= An expected strength, UL's offense hit .250-plus with 40-plus kills in sweeping its way to a 2-0 start. The squad followed with 56 kills vs. Mississippi State.
= Cami Hicks, an All-Sun Belt selection in 2022, posted a career-high 107 blocks last season.
= Kara Barnes has hit .310-plus the past three seasons, tallying 150-plus kills each time. Barnes has also eclipsed 70 blocks each year during the streak.
= Third-year setter Siena DeCambra has started in Louisiana's 6-2 system each of the past two seasons, handing out 500-plus helpers both times.
= All three of Louisiana's opposite hitters – Celeste Darling, Emery Judkins and Mya Wilson – produced 100-plus kills in the 2022 season.
= Lauryn Hill, who posted 109 kills in SBC play as a freshman in 2022, and San Francisco transfer Shyia Richardson, coming off back-to-back 200-kills seasons, are the frontrunners to take over as the Cajuns point producers at outside hitter.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin' Cajuns early season travels take them to Lubbock, Texas for the Red Raider Classic hosted by Texas Tech from Friday-Saturday, September 1-2 at the United Supermarkets Arena.
Louisiana begins play in Lubbock on Friday at 4:30 p.m. against Texas A&M-Commerce, then concludes the visit playing a Saturday doubleheader with matches against Wyoming at 11:30 a.m. and Texas Tech at 7:00 p.m.
All matches in the Red Raider Classic will be streamed on ESPN+. Live stats can be accessed 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.
The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ with live stats available at CajunStats.com.
Louisiana (2-1) is coming off a runner-up finish on opening weekend (Aug. 25-27) at the StarkVegas Classic, coming within one set victory of taking the title from host-Mississippi State.
The Cajuns offense, an expected strength, generated 13.6 kills per set in Starkville, paced by Shyia Richardson's 4.9 kills per set average.
The Ragin' Cajuns started the season with a streak of eight consecutive sets won, sweeping Northwestern State and Eastern Kentucky before opening a 2-0 set advantage over Mississippi State on Sunday, August 27.
Rice (2-0), which entered the season preseason ranked No. 23, claimed both of its opening weekend matches at Tudor Fieldhouse highlighted by a straight sets sweep of No. 22 USC. For the weekend, Emilia Weske and Danyle Courtley led the way with 28 and 25 kills, respectively.
Tuesday's matchup is the first between the Ragin' Cajuns and Owls since the 2017 Rice Adidas Invitational at Tudor Fieldhouse.
It's the first of two stops in the state of Texas for Louisiana this week. The Cajuns head out to Lubbock later in the week for Texas Tech's Red Raider Classic set for Friday-Saturday, September 1-2.
THE MATCHUP
Tuesday, Aug. 29 at Rice // Houston, Texas // 6:00 p.m.
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Twitter Updates
SERIES HISTORY
- Rice: Rice leads, 9-1 | Last match: L, 0-3 on 9/8/2017 in Houston
Streak: Rice +2
SERVICE ACES
= Louisiana enters the second week of its season-opening three-match road stretch, beginning on Tuesday, Aug. 29 at preseason No. 23 Rice.
= The Cajuns finished as runner-up at the StarkVegas Classic on opening weekend, winning the first eight sets of play and were one set shy of capturing the title from Mississippi State.
= Shyia Richardson headlined the offense in Starkville, generating at least 17 kills in all three matches in totaling 54 over the weekend event.
= Shyia Richardson averaged 4.9 kills per set and scored at least five kills in eight out of 11 sets competed in while in Starkville.
= Setter Siena DeCambra averaged 11.0 assists per set and directed UL's offense to a season-opening streak of eight consecutive sets won.
= Siena DeCambra handed out 39 and 38 assists, respectively, in Louisiana's sweeps of Northwestern State and Eastern Kentucky (12-plus per set).
= An expected strength, UL's offense hit .250-plus with 40-plus kills in sweeping its way to a 2-0 start. The squad followed with 56 kills vs. Mississippi State.
= Cami Hicks, an All-Sun Belt selection in 2022, posted a career-high 107 blocks last season.
= Kara Barnes has hit .310-plus the past three seasons, tallying 150-plus kills each time. Barnes has also eclipsed 70 blocks each year during the streak.
= Third-year setter Siena DeCambra has started in Louisiana's 6-2 system each of the past two seasons, handing out 500-plus helpers both times.
= All three of Louisiana's opposite hitters – Celeste Darling, Emery Judkins and Mya Wilson – produced 100-plus kills in the 2022 season.
= Lauryn Hill, who posted 109 kills in SBC play as a freshman in 2022, and San Francisco transfer Shyia Richardson, coming off back-to-back 200-kills seasons, are the frontrunners to take over as the Cajuns point producers at outside hitter.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin' Cajuns early season travels take them to Lubbock, Texas for the Red Raider Classic hosted by Texas Tech from Friday-Saturday, September 1-2 at the United Supermarkets Arena.
Louisiana begins play in Lubbock on Friday at 4:30 p.m. against Texas A&M-Commerce, then concludes the visit playing a Saturday doubleheader with matches against Wyoming at 11:30 a.m. and Texas Tech at 7:00 p.m.
All matches in the Red Raider Classic will be streamed on ESPN+. Live stats can be accessed 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 -
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