Cajuns Remain at Home for Sun Belt Conference Opener

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball team competes at E.K. Long Gym for the second straight week and begins Sun Belt Conference play when the Troy Trojans visit for a two-match series scheduled for Thursday-Friday, Sept. 21-22.

First serve for both nights of the Louisiana-Troy series is set for 6:00 p.m., with live coverage available on ESPN+ and CajunStats.com.

The series opener on Thursday is a Black Out Match, with fans encouraged to wear black, and a Dorm Storm for on-campus students. The first 125 fans will receive a free black t-shirt while residence hall students receive a free slice of pizza.

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

Louisiana opens SBC play at home for the first time since the 2021 season (Kristi Gray's inaugural season). The Cajuns and Trojans meet on opening weekend for the second straight year, the two teams splitting a series in Troy, Alabama last September.

The Ragin' Cajuns (9-5) enter conference play riding the momentum of a season-best, four-match winning streak, the most recent success coming in a sweep of last week's Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic at E.K. Long Gym.

Louisiana's offense continued to thrive during the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic, registering an astounding 14.7 kills per set on a .299 hitting percentage. The Cajuns have hit .250-plus the past six matches dating back to Sept. 8 vs. Charlotte at the UNF Invitational.

Shyia Richardson's 50 kills at a rate of 4.5 per set, Cami Hicks' 17 blocks (1.5/set) and Siena DeCambra's 10.6 assists per set continued the trios leading efforts in the respective areas of the game. For the season, Richardson leads UL with 175 kills (3.8/set), Hicks has posted a team-high 49 blocks (0.9/set) and DeCambra entered the week as the national leader in total assists with 525 (10.2/set).

Hicks enters the Troy series needing only three blocks to reach 300 in her collegiate career. She would become just the fourth Ragin' Cajun in the rally scoring era to hit the mark.

Louisiana seeks to extend its winning streak, currently one win shy of matching the longest string of wins in the Kristi Gray era and with an opportunity to set a new benchmark.

Troy (2-8) enters SBC play after facing a grueling non-conference schedule that featured three ranked teams and six that played in the NCAA Tournament last season. Tori Hester leads the offense averaging 3.49 kills per set while Julia Brooks, the Trojans' all-time leader in career blocks, has posted a team-best 27 blocks.

THE MATCHUPS
Thursday, Sept. 21 vs. Troy // E.K. Long Gym // 6:00 p.m.
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Twitter Updates

Friday, Sept. 22 vs. Troy // E.K. Long Gym // 6:00 p.m.
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Twitter Updates

SERIES HISTORY
- Troy: Troy leads, 14-13 | Last match: W, 3-0 on 9/23/2022 in Troy, Ala.
In Lafayette: Tied, 5-5 | Sun Belt Matches: Troy leads, 13-9
Current Streak: UL +1

SERVICE ACES
= Louisiana continues its homestand with the Sun Belt Conference opening-series against Troy set for Thursday-Friday, Sept. 21-22 at E.K. Long Gym.
= The Cajuns carry a season-best, four-match winning streak into conference play.
= UL officially opened its home schedule last week, posting a clean sweep of the three-match Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic tournament.
= Louisiana's offense hummed on its home court, averaging 14.7 kills per set on a .299 percentage.
= The Cajuns block was its best all season, totaling 28 blocks (2.5/set) led by Cami Hicks' 17 blocks.
= UL and Troy meet in the SBC opener a second straight season (split series in Troy in 2022).
= Shyia Richardson is averaging 3.8 kills per set. She fired off 50 kills at a rate of 4.5 per set in the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic and enters the Troy series 25 shy of a third straight 200-kills season.
= Setter Siena DeCambra enters the week as the national leader in total assists (525).
= Siena DeCambra passed out 10-plus assists per set in all four weekend tournaments. She averaged 10.6 per set last weekend, despite opening the weekend operating in the 6-2 attack vs. Nicholls.
= Cami Hicks, an All-Sun Belt selection in 2022, posted a career-high 107 blocks last season.
= Cami Hicks enters the Troy series three (3) blocks shy of 300 career blocks. She would become just the fourth Cajun to hit the mark in the rally scoring era.
= Kara Barnes hit .310-plus the previous three seasons, tallying 150-plus kills each time. She's currently hitting .324 and has 86 kills.
= Celeste Darling has scored double-digit kills and hit .450-plus in three of the last four outings.
= Mya Wilson turned in 18 of her 36 blocks the last two weekends and scored 51 kills during the stretch.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Louisiana travels to Jonesboro, Arkansas for the team's first road matches of the season in Sun Belt Conference play, the contests scheduled for Friday-Saturday, September 29-30 at Arkansas State.

The Ragin' Cajuns and Red Wolves begin play in the First National Bank Arena at 6:00 p.m. on Friday (Sept. 29) before closing the two-match series with a 1:00 p.m. match on Saturday (Sept. 30).

The matches are being broadcast on ESPN+ with 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 -

Cajuns Remain at Home for Sun Belt Conference Opener

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Players Mentioned

Kara Barnes

Celeste Darling

Siena DeCambra

Cami Hicks

Shyia Richardson

Mya Wilson

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