University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Friday, September 8
Jacksonville, Fla.
11:15 a.m. (CDT)
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
5-4
3
vs
0
Charlotte
4-3
1
2
3
F
Charlotte
11
15
22
0
Louisiana
25
25
25
3
Ragin’ Cajuns Outwork 49ers in Straight Sets Sweep
9/8/2023 2:31:00 PM | Volleyball
Louisiana gets back on track as weekend gets underway in Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball team outperformed Charlotte in all phases of the game in collecting a straight sets sweep (25-11, 25-15, 25-22) in the squad's opening match of the UNF Invitational on the University of North Florida campus in Jacksonville, Florida.
Louisiana (5-4) was decisively more efficient than Charlotte (4-3), committing only six attack errors and hitting .309 (35 K, 6 E, 94 TA), and used its patented relentless defense to force the 49ers into 25 attack errors and a .068 hitting percentage.
The Cajuns dominated at the service line with an 8-3 edge in aces and on the frontline by out-blocking the 49ers by a 7-1 count. UL held a 53-48 edge in digs paced by four players with at least nine digs.
Things went Louisiana's way very early, the team notching six aces – led by a pair from Cami Hicks and Kennedy Gustafson – in quickly building a 16-7 lead in the opening set.
UL kept the pressure on out of a Charlotte timeout, a combo block from Mya Wilson and Celeste Darling making it 19-8 and the Cajuns kept charging increasing the lead to as much as 15 points.
Charlotte crept within three points, 14-11, in Set 2 before a key save from Mio Yamamoto set up a middle-kill from Hicks for a key side out. After the media timeout, two separate three-point spurts by the Cajuns bookended a 49ers timeout and pushed the lead to double figures for good.
Things went UL's way once again in the end, erasing an 18-13 deficit in Set 3 to complete the sweep. First it was the offense with a pair of Lauryn Hill kills and a Yamamoto ace for a three-point spurt followed by the defense with three straight points capped off by back-to-back blocks involving Hicks to take a 19-18 lead.
Charlotte collected a side out to even the score at 19-all, but Louisiana went back to Hill who delivered the tiebreaking score by tooling the block to kick off a 5-0 run that set up match point.
Hill tallied a team-high nine kills off 16 swings at a .500 percentage. Hicks starred at the service line with three aces and had a hand in three blocks (1 BS, 2 BA).
Shyia Richardson supplied seven kills and a team-leading 11 digs. Celeste Darling landed seven kills on her 16 swings and Wilson scored six kills off of 13 error-free swings.
Louisiana hit an impressive .345 (22 K, 2 E, 58 TA) in building its commanding 2-0 match lead and closed out the sweep by a resounding 12-4 run, putting an end to a three-match losing streak.
Friday's contest marked the first-ever meeting between the Ragin' Cajuns and 49ers. It was UL's second victory over and American Athletic Conference program (No. 18 Rice).
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin' Cajuns return to the UNF Arena for the nightcap of Day 1 of the UNF Invitational, matching up against the host-North Florida Ospreys at 6:30 p.m. (CDT).
A live broadcast of the match is available on ESPN+ and live stats can be accessed on the volleyball schedule page at RaginCajuns.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.
Louisiana (5-4) was decisively more efficient than Charlotte (4-3), committing only six attack errors and hitting .309 (35 K, 6 E, 94 TA), and used its patented relentless defense to force the 49ers into 25 attack errors and a .068 hitting percentage.
The Cajuns dominated at the service line with an 8-3 edge in aces and on the frontline by out-blocking the 49ers by a 7-1 count. UL held a 53-48 edge in digs paced by four players with at least nine digs.
Things went Louisiana's way very early, the team notching six aces – led by a pair from Cami Hicks and Kennedy Gustafson – in quickly building a 16-7 lead in the opening set.
UL kept the pressure on out of a Charlotte timeout, a combo block from Mya Wilson and Celeste Darling making it 19-8 and the Cajuns kept charging increasing the lead to as much as 15 points.
Charlotte crept within three points, 14-11, in Set 2 before a key save from Mio Yamamoto set up a middle-kill from Hicks for a key side out. After the media timeout, two separate three-point spurts by the Cajuns bookended a 49ers timeout and pushed the lead to double figures for good.
Things went UL's way once again in the end, erasing an 18-13 deficit in Set 3 to complete the sweep. First it was the offense with a pair of Lauryn Hill kills and a Yamamoto ace for a three-point spurt followed by the defense with three straight points capped off by back-to-back blocks involving Hicks to take a 19-18 lead.
Charlotte collected a side out to even the score at 19-all, but Louisiana went back to Hill who delivered the tiebreaking score by tooling the block to kick off a 5-0 run that set up match point.
Hill tallied a team-high nine kills off 16 swings at a .500 percentage. Hicks starred at the service line with three aces and had a hand in three blocks (1 BS, 2 BA).
Shyia Richardson supplied seven kills and a team-leading 11 digs. Celeste Darling landed seven kills on her 16 swings and Wilson scored six kills off of 13 error-free swings.
Louisiana hit an impressive .345 (22 K, 2 E, 58 TA) in building its commanding 2-0 match lead and closed out the sweep by a resounding 12-4 run, putting an end to a three-match losing streak.
Friday's contest marked the first-ever meeting between the Ragin' Cajuns and 49ers. It was UL's second victory over and American Athletic Conference program (No. 18 Rice).
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin' Cajuns return to the UNF Arena for the nightcap of Day 1 of the UNF Invitational, matching up against the host-North Florida Ospreys at 6:30 p.m. (CDT).
A live broadcast of the match is available on ESPN+ and live stats can be accessed on the volleyball schedule page at RaginCajuns.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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Team Stats
CLT
UL
Kills
33
35
Errors
25
6
Attempts
117
94
Hitting %
.068
.309
Points
37.0
50.0
Assists
33
33
Aces
3
8
Blocks
1.0
7.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
OPP
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOPP
/ Volleyball
L
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