University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Friday, September 22
Lafayette
6:00 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
9-7, 0-2SBC
0
vs
3
Troy
4-8, 2-0SBC
1
2
3
F
Troy
25
25
25
3
Louisiana
23
21
12
0
Cajuns Outpaced by Trojans in Series Finale
9/22/2023 9:08:00 PM | Volleyball
Troy turned to its offense to best Louisiana a second straight night
LAFAYETTE – Troy completed the sweep of a two-match Sun Belt Conference series with the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball team at E.K. Long Gym, with the visitors claiming a 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-12) on Friday evening.
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The Trojans (4-8, 2-0 Sun Belt) managed to survive a pair of offensive shootouts to start the match, holding a 30-25 edge in kills over the first two sets, and then closed with the return of its stout defense that carried them on Thursday capped off by four blocks in the third set.
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It was a hard-luck defeat for the Ragin' Cajuns (9-7, 0-2 Sun Belt) who delivered a strong response to Thursday's struggles on offense. Louisiana wound up out-hitting Troy over the first two sets, .349-.304, generating 25 kills off 58 swings against only five errors, only to drop the two sets by a combined six points.
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The sweep was sealed for Troy as the visitors were the one to keep firing on all cylinders, closing the match hitting at a .480 clip (14 K, 2 E, 25 TA) in Set 3.
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The result spoiled a record-setting night for Louisiana which drew single-match school record 917 fans to the contest.
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Louisiana was dealt consecutive defeats for the first time in three weeks (Texas Tech Red Raider Classic) and fell to the Trojans for the fourth straight time at E.K. Long Gym.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Troy was able to overcome three deficits to take the all-important first-set victory. Louisiana, which erased a pair of deficits of its own, forged ahead 21-19 after a kill from Kara Barnes and an ace from Mio Yamamoto. The Trojans, though, rallied with a 5-1 spurt capped off by kill from Tori Hester an ace from Jaci Mesa to pull ahead 24-22.
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The Cajuns stayed ahead of the Trojans early in Set 2, expanding the lead to 9-5 following kills from Barnes and Lauryn Hill. Â Troy's ability to score in bunches paid off as four straight winners evened the score and the lead was captured for good off the hands of Hester who delivered an ace and a kill for a 15-13 edge.
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The Trojans scored the first five points of Set 3 and their defense held the Cajuns to a .000 hitting percentage (7 K, 7 E, 28 TA) for the frame in completing the straight sets sweep.
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INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
The trio of Barnes, Shyia Richardson and Celeste Darling led Louisiana with six kills apiece, accounting for 18 of the team's 32 kills. Barnes' production came off of eight error-free swings while Richardson used just nine swings against only one error.
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Barnes had a hand in two blocks as did fellow middle blocker Cami Hicks who as a result collected her 300th career block. Hicks becomes just the fourth Ragin' Cajun to reach 300 blocks in the rally scoring era.
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Maddi Fritz, subbing in at setter for an injured Siena DeCambra, passed out 26 assists, scored a pair of kills, collected a pair of digs and picked up a block.
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Mio Yamamoto scooped a match-high nine digs, had three assists and served up an ace. Hill rounded up six digs a second consecutive night to go along with her five kills.
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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.
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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).
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The matches are being broadcast on ESPN+ with live stats available at CajunStats.com.
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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.
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The Trojans (4-8, 2-0 Sun Belt) managed to survive a pair of offensive shootouts to start the match, holding a 30-25 edge in kills over the first two sets, and then closed with the return of its stout defense that carried them on Thursday capped off by four blocks in the third set.
Â
It was a hard-luck defeat for the Ragin' Cajuns (9-7, 0-2 Sun Belt) who delivered a strong response to Thursday's struggles on offense. Louisiana wound up out-hitting Troy over the first two sets, .349-.304, generating 25 kills off 58 swings against only five errors, only to drop the two sets by a combined six points.
Â
The sweep was sealed for Troy as the visitors were the one to keep firing on all cylinders, closing the match hitting at a .480 clip (14 K, 2 E, 25 TA) in Set 3.
Â
The result spoiled a record-setting night for Louisiana which drew single-match school record 917 fans to the contest.
Â
Louisiana was dealt consecutive defeats for the first time in three weeks (Texas Tech Red Raider Classic) and fell to the Trojans for the fourth straight time at E.K. Long Gym.
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
Troy was able to overcome three deficits to take the all-important first-set victory. Louisiana, which erased a pair of deficits of its own, forged ahead 21-19 after a kill from Kara Barnes and an ace from Mio Yamamoto. The Trojans, though, rallied with a 5-1 spurt capped off by kill from Tori Hester an ace from Jaci Mesa to pull ahead 24-22.
Â
The Cajuns stayed ahead of the Trojans early in Set 2, expanding the lead to 9-5 following kills from Barnes and Lauryn Hill. Â Troy's ability to score in bunches paid off as four straight winners evened the score and the lead was captured for good off the hands of Hester who delivered an ace and a kill for a 15-13 edge.
Â
The Trojans scored the first five points of Set 3 and their defense held the Cajuns to a .000 hitting percentage (7 K, 7 E, 28 TA) for the frame in completing the straight sets sweep.
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INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
The trio of Barnes, Shyia Richardson and Celeste Darling led Louisiana with six kills apiece, accounting for 18 of the team's 32 kills. Barnes' production came off of eight error-free swings while Richardson used just nine swings against only one error.
Â
Barnes had a hand in two blocks as did fellow middle blocker Cami Hicks who as a result collected her 300th career block. Hicks becomes just the fourth Ragin' Cajun to reach 300 blocks in the rally scoring era.
Â
Maddi Fritz, subbing in at setter for an injured Siena DeCambra, passed out 26 assists, scored a pair of kills, collected a pair of digs and picked up a block.
Â
Mio Yamamoto scooped a match-high nine digs, had three assists and served up an ace. Hill rounded up six digs a second consecutive night to go along with her five kills.
Â
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.
Â
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).
Â
The matches are being broadcast on ESPN+ with live stats available at CajunStats.com.
 Â
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.
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- www.RaginCajuns.com -
Team Stats
TROY
UL
Kills
44
32
Errors
11
12
Attempts
94
86
Hitting %
.351
.233
Points
58.0
39.0
Assists
43
30
Aces
8
3
Blocks
6.0
4.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB
/ VolleyballOPP
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
L
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