University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Friday, September 27
Lafayette
6:00 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
4-8, 0-1SBC
2
vs
3
Texas State
7-5, 1-0SBC
1
2
3
4
5
F
Texas State
16
21
25
25
15
3
Louisiana
25
25
18
14
11
2
Cajuns Slowed Down and Caught by Bobcats in SBC Opener
9/27/2024 10:20:00 PM | Volleyball
Texas State overcomes Louisiana by pulling off reverse sweep
LAFAYETTE – After two sets in the Sun Belt Conference opener the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball team was firing on all cylinders and had Texas State right where they wanted them, only to see the visiting Bobcats claw back and snatch a 3-2 (16-25, 21-25, 25-18, 25-14, 15-11) win on Friday at E.K. Long Gym.
Louisiana (4-8, 0-1 SBC) stormed out to a commanding 2-0 match lead after opening the night with 32 kills on .456 hitting. The offense needed only 63 swings and the defense forced Texas State (7-5, 1-0 SBC) into 10 attack errors during the early sprintout.
The Cajuns ran away early in the opening set, a kill from Lauryn Hill doubling up the Bobcats at 14-7 and later Cailin Demps' fourth kill of the stanza moving the advantage into double digits at 19-9.
It was back-and-forth play through the media timeout of Set 2 before Louisiana made its move. The Cajuns would erase a 16-14 deficit with a 6-0 run that started with a Cami Hicks kills, Jazmine Gaston ace and Jaylynn McNeill, recapturing the lead for good.
The match turned in the Bobcats favor after they made a rotation switch starting in Set 3 and UL began to cool off. The Ragin' Cajuns wound up committing 17 attack errors over the final three sets and were forced to take an increased amount of swings (96) while scoring fewer kills (24).
The Cajuns drew even at 6-all in Set 5 following a combo block from Hicks and Hill. The Bobcats, though, countered with a Bailey Hanner kill followed by an ace from Alyssa Clark to create the key momentum change of the night.
Louisiana made a push at a comeback when a Demps kill and Chelsea Gilmore block sliced the Texas State lead to 13-11. After a timeout, the Bobcats came with final difference makers netting back-to-back kills for match point.
The loss was the first for the Ragin' Cajuns in a five-set match this season. It also prevented UL from halting a six-match losing streak at E.K. Long against the Bobcats and from notching the first back-to-back wins in the all-time series.
LEADING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
With 17 kills, Demps finished as the Ragin' Cajuns leader and reached the total for the third straight match. She's scored 53 kills (3.5/set) on .260 hitting so far on the team's current homestand.
Hill returned to the court and scored 15 kills off her 41 swings on .268 hitting. She along with Demps scored nine kills over the first two sets, the duo combining for 18 kills on 34 swings as UL opened a 2-0 match lead.
Hicks stuffed the stats sheet with eight kills, two aces, three digs a team-leading five blocks. It was the graduate middle blocker's eight time posting at least five blocks over the season's 12 matches.
Libero Mio Yamamoto rounded up 20 digs, extending her streak with 20-plus to three matches and collecting her seventh outing of 20-plus this season.
Setter Danielle Taix joined Yamamoto in double digits with her season-high of 17 digs to go along with her 17 assists.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Louisiana and Texas State conclude the two-match Sun Belt Conference series at E.K. Long Gym on Saturday, September 28 with first serve scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
The Ragin' Cajuns seek to gain a split on Sun Belt Opening Weekend as they wrap up their September-ending, four-match homestand.
A live broadcast of the match is available on ESPN+ while live stats can be accessed 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.
Louisiana (4-8, 0-1 SBC) stormed out to a commanding 2-0 match lead after opening the night with 32 kills on .456 hitting. The offense needed only 63 swings and the defense forced Texas State (7-5, 1-0 SBC) into 10 attack errors during the early sprintout.
The Cajuns ran away early in the opening set, a kill from Lauryn Hill doubling up the Bobcats at 14-7 and later Cailin Demps' fourth kill of the stanza moving the advantage into double digits at 19-9.
It was back-and-forth play through the media timeout of Set 2 before Louisiana made its move. The Cajuns would erase a 16-14 deficit with a 6-0 run that started with a Cami Hicks kills, Jazmine Gaston ace and Jaylynn McNeill, recapturing the lead for good.
The match turned in the Bobcats favor after they made a rotation switch starting in Set 3 and UL began to cool off. The Ragin' Cajuns wound up committing 17 attack errors over the final three sets and were forced to take an increased amount of swings (96) while scoring fewer kills (24).
The Cajuns drew even at 6-all in Set 5 following a combo block from Hicks and Hill. The Bobcats, though, countered with a Bailey Hanner kill followed by an ace from Alyssa Clark to create the key momentum change of the night.
Louisiana made a push at a comeback when a Demps kill and Chelsea Gilmore block sliced the Texas State lead to 13-11. After a timeout, the Bobcats came with final difference makers netting back-to-back kills for match point.
The loss was the first for the Ragin' Cajuns in a five-set match this season. It also prevented UL from halting a six-match losing streak at E.K. Long against the Bobcats and from notching the first back-to-back wins in the all-time series.
LEADING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
With 17 kills, Demps finished as the Ragin' Cajuns leader and reached the total for the third straight match. She's scored 53 kills (3.5/set) on .260 hitting so far on the team's current homestand.
Hill returned to the court and scored 15 kills off her 41 swings on .268 hitting. She along with Demps scored nine kills over the first two sets, the duo combining for 18 kills on 34 swings as UL opened a 2-0 match lead.
Hicks stuffed the stats sheet with eight kills, two aces, three digs a team-leading five blocks. It was the graduate middle blocker's eight time posting at least five blocks over the season's 12 matches.
Libero Mio Yamamoto rounded up 20 digs, extending her streak with 20-plus to three matches and collecting her seventh outing of 20-plus this season.
Setter Danielle Taix joined Yamamoto in double digits with her season-high of 17 digs to go along with her 17 assists.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Louisiana and Texas State conclude the two-match Sun Belt Conference series at E.K. Long Gym on Saturday, September 28 with first serve scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
The Ragin' Cajuns seek to gain a split on Sun Belt Opening Weekend as they wrap up their September-ending, four-match homestand.
A live broadcast of the match is available on ESPN+ while live stats can be accessed 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 -
Team Stats
TXST
UL
Kills
65
56
Errors
22
21
Attempts
173
158
Hitting %
.249
.222
Points
80.0
67.0
Assists
62
56
Aces
2
4
Blocks
13.0
7.0
Game Leaders
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
2
Blocks
5
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OH/OPP
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB/OPP
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
L
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