Eagles Take Series Opener from Cajuns

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Georgia Southern	25	25	25	3
Louisiana	14	19	18	0

Georgia Southern

Louisiana

LAFAYETTE – With a hitting percentage above .250 each set, Georgia Southern was able maintain distance from the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball team and capture a 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-18) win on Thursday, November 14 at E.K. Long Gym in the opening contest of Senior Weekend.

The precision led the Eagles (20-4, 10-3 SBC) to a 42-28 advantage in kills over the Ragin' Cajuns (8-16, 4-9 SBC). The visitors out-hit Louisiana .287 to .117 for the match.

Georgia Southern produced at least 13 kills each frame with the match-best 16 kills recorded in the second set shaking off the Ragin' Cajuns who held a 15-14 lead.

The Eagles landed the first three points of the opening set and never trailed in taking a 1-0 match lead.

Louisiana stayed in step early in Set 2 before a combo block from Chelsea Gilmore and Jaylynn McNeill provided the team's first lead of the night at 7-6.

Later a quick 3-0 run reeled Georgia Southern back in, knotting the score at 12-all and setting the stage for UL holding the lead at the media timeout. The Eagles countered with a 5-0 run for the final lead change of the contest.

The Ragin' Cajuns made a push at evening the match in each of the final two stanzas.

A block solo from Jazmine Gaston sliced the deficit to 22-19 in Set 2, but the Eagles got a set-ending 3-0 run. In Set 3, back-to-back kills from Gilmore trimmed Georgia Southern's lead to 21-17 and prompted a timeout.

Thursday's matchup marked the first meeting between the Ragin' Cajuns and Eagles since September 2021.

LEADING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Cailin Demps furnished three kills in each set in building her team-leading total of nine kills. Gilmore scored seven kills off of only 12 swings and a .417 hitting percentage.

Led by four blocks (1 BS, 3 BA) from Cami Hicks the Cajuns out-blocked the Eagles 6.0-2.0.

The four blocks from Hicks moved her halfway to the total needed to break the program's rally scoring era single-season blocks record. She heads into the season finale with 126 blocks, just shy of the record 129 posted by Clarice Laires in 2001.

Setter Megan Hawkins collected her team-best 13th double-double with her 15 assists and 12 digs. Libero Mio Yamamoto's nine digs were the most amongst the contingent of eight others with multiple digs.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Louisiana and Georgia Southern return to E.K. Long Gym on Friday, November 15 for the series finale. First serve is set for 6:00 p.m. live on ESPN+.

The Ragin' Cajuns will honor their senior class prior to the start of the match beginning at 5:45 p.m.

Friday's contest marks the final home match and concludes the 2024 season for Louisiana.

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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Players Mentioned

Cailin Demps

Jazmine Gaston

Chelsea Gilmore

Megan Hawkins

Cami Hicks

Jaylynn McNeill

Mio Yamamoto

Team Stats

Demps Cailin

Gilmore Chelsea

Gaston Jazmine

Hill Lauryn