Louisiana Seeks to Rebound on the Road, Starting in Jonesboro

JONESBORO, Ark. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball team seeks to rebound from its Sun Belt opening weekend setback when the squad faces off with Arkansas State from Friday-Saturday, Sept. 29-30 at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

The Ragin' Cajuns-Red Wolves series begins Friday at 6:00 p.m. and concludes Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats are available at CajunStats.com.

Louisiana (9-7, 0-2 Sun Belt) heads into its first road matches in conference play looking to turn the page on an uncharacteristic performance in a two-match series sweep at the hands of Troy last weekend at E.K. Long Gym. The Trojans were able to hit .300-plus both nights, while the usually efficient Cajuns swung at a .164 clip for the series.

UL has been road-tested already this season, starting out the campaign with 11 consecutive matches away from home and posting a winning mark (6-5).

The Cajuns offense has been spearheaded by Shyia Richardson (3.6 kills/set) and Celeste Darling (2.8 kills/set). Richardson enters the weekend 17 kills shy of reaching 200 for a third consecutive season. Darling, normally an opposite hitter, has been playing at outside hitter the vast majority of the season and is hitting .264.

Defensively, Louisiana is led by the middle blocker tandem of Cami Hicks (52 blocks) and Kara Barnes (37 blocks). Hicks reached 300 career blocks in the Troy series and Barnes is right behind her needing seven more for the milestone. Mya Wilson (37 blocks) has been an additional force for UL on the frontline.

Freshman Kennedy Gustafson (179 digs) and JUCO transfer Mio Yamamoto (177 digs) have shared duties at libero. The Cajuns are hopeful to have setter Siena DeCambra – who entered SBC play leading the nation in assists – return this weekend (injured in Set 1 of Troy opener).

Arkansas State (11-3, 1-1 Sun Belt) produced the top non-conference record in the SBC West. The Red Wolves led the Sun Belt in assists per set (12.83), kills per set (13.81) and attacks per set (36.83) in non-conference action. ASU has multiple scoring options, with five players averaging at least 2.0 kills per set led by Kaitlin Whitlock's 125 kills (2.8/set) and Bailey Helzer's 122 kills (2.7/set).

THE MATCHUPS
Friday, Sept. 29 at Arkansas State // Jonesboro, Ark. // 6:00 p.m.
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Twitter Updates

Saturday, Sept. 30 at Arkansas State // Jonesboro, Ark. // 1:00 p.m.
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Twitter Updates

Match Notes (PDF): Louisiana | Arkansas State
Rosters: Louisiana | Arkansas State
Schedules: Louisiana | Arkansas State
Stats (PDF): Louisiana | Arkansas State

SERIES HISTORY
- Arkansas State: ASU leads, 49-24 | Last match: W, 3-0 on 9/30/2022 at E.K. Long Gym
Sun Belt Matches: ASU leads, 34-17
Current Streak: UL +5

SERVICE ACES
>> Louisiana plays its first road matches of the season in Sun Belt Conference play, visiting Arkansas State for a two-match series in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
>> It's the first of back-to-back SBC series on the road for the Ragin' Cajuns – Sept. 29-30 at ASU, followed by Oct. 6-7 at Texas State.
>> Louisiana had its season-best, four-match win streak snapped by Troy in their SBC opener.
>> UL played the Troy series shorthanded, as setter Siena DeCambra left the opening set of the series with an injury.
>> Cami Hicks posted her 300th career block in the Troy finale, becoming just the fourth Cajun to reach the mark in the rally scoring era (2001-present).
>> Louisiana carries an active five-match win streak over Arkansas State into the weekend series.
>> The Cajuns have won eight of the last 10 vs. ASU, including a sweep of last year's series in Lafayette.
>> Cami Hicks, an All-Sun Belt selection in 2022, posted a career-high 107 blocks last season.
>> Kara Barnes is seven (7) blocks away from joining Cami Hicks in reaching 300 career blocks. She'd be the fifth Cajun to do so in the rally scoring era.
>> Shyia Richardson is averaging 3.7 kills per set and sits 17 kills away from netting the third consecutive 200-kills season of her collegiate career.
>> Setter Siena DeCambra entered SBC Opening Weekend as the national leader in total assists (525).
>> Siena DeCambra passed out 10-plus assists per set in all four non-conference tournaments.
>> Kara Barnes hit .310-plus the previous three seasons, tallying 150-plus kills each time. She's currently hitting .348 and has 100 kills.
>> Averaging a career-best pace 2.8 kills per set, Celeste Darling is on pace to top her career-high mark in total kills (207 set last season).

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin' Cajuns remain on the road, traveling to San Marcos, Texas for a Sun Belt West showdown with Texas State from Friday-Saturday, October 6-7 at Strahan Arena.

Louisiana and Texas State begin the two-match series at 6:00 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 6), then conclude the faceoff on Saturday (Oct. 7) in a 2:00 p.m. match.

The series with the Bobcats closes out a four-match road swing for the Cajuns, whose next matches at E.K. Long Gym are set for Friday-Saturday, October 13-14 vs. South Alabama.

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 Seeks to Rebound on the Road, Starting in Jonesboro

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Players Mentioned

Kara Barnes

Celeste Darling

Siena DeCambra

Kennedy Gustafson

Cami Hicks

Shyia Richardson

Mya Wilson

Mio Yamamoto

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