Louisiana Finishes Road Trip, Wraps Up Non-Conference at Home

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball team completes a five-match road trip on Tuesday, September 15 when the squad travels to Hammond to face Southeastern and then returns home to E.K. Long Gym to host the Ragin' Cajuns Classic from Thursday-Saturday, September 17-19.

Louisiana, which defeated SLU 3-1 back on Sept. 3 at E.K. Long Gym, goes for the season sweep in Tuesday's 6:30 p.m. contest from the University Center. Live coverage is available on ESPN+.

The return to E.K. Long Gym on Thursday (Sept. 17) is headlined by a showdown with SEC foe Mississippi State to kick off the Ragin' Cajuns Classic. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. live on ESPN+.

UL then faces UT Arlington at 6:00 p.m. on Friday (Sept. 18) and Jackson State on Saturday (Sept. 19) at 2:00 p.m. to round out the weekend tournament in the Hub City.

Admission to all UL Volleyball home matches throughout the season is free and open to the public. Available parking lots can be found on the Volleyball Match Day Parking page.

The Ragin' Cajuns are completing non-conference action for the 2026 season with this week's contests. UL travels to Troy the following weekend to begin Sun Belt Conference play.

Louisiana's offense is diversified with six players having accumulated 30-plus kills led by Lolo Lambert (98 kills) and Sarah Schnell (93 kills). The team's defense has been the headliner: Lindsey Henry's 33 blocks and Emily Williams' 32 blocks pacing a frontline effort of 2.3 blocks per set while Kennedy Gustafson's 135 digs has solidified the back row.

Gustafson enters the week closing in on the 1,000-career digs milestone, needing 48 digs to reach the mark.

THE MATCHUPS
Tuesday, Sept. 15 at Southeastern // Hammond, La. // 6:30 p.m.
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Twitter Updates

Ragin' Cajuns Classic (E.K. Long Gym)
Thursday, Sept. 17 vs. Mississippi State // E.K. Long Gym // 6:00 p.m.
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Twitter Updates

Friday, Sept. 18 vs. UT Arlington // E.K. Long Gym // 6:00 p.m.
Live Stats | Twitter Updates

Saturday, Sept. 19 vs. Jackson State // E.K. Long Gym // 2:00 p.m.
Live Stats | Twitter Updates

SERIES HISTORY
- Southeastern: UL leads, 47-16 | Last match: W, 3-1 on 9/3/2026 at E.K. Long Gym
Streak: UL +1
- Mississippi State: MSU leads, 12-8 | Last match: L, 2-3 on 8/27/2023 in Starkville, Miss.
Streak: MSU +5
- UT Arlington: UTA leads, 19-9 | Last match: L, 0-3 on 9/1/2024 at E.K. Long Gym
Streak: UTA +2
- Jackson State: UL leads, 11-4 | Last match: L, 1-3 on 8/30/2024 at E.K. Long Gym
Streak: JSU +1

SET POINTS

UL starts the week with a rematch vs. Southeastern then hosts the Ragin' Cajuns Classic.
The visit to SLU marks the end of the Cajuns' current five-match road stretch that began last week with a string of four matches in Tallahassee, Florida.
The Ragin' Cajuns Classic brings a close to non-conference play in the 2026 season.
Thursday's Mississippi State match marks the first visit to E.K. Long by an SEC foe since MSU in 2006.
Louisiana continues the 50th anniversary season in program history (launched as a D1 program in 1976).
The Cajuns claimed the victory in Set 1 of all four matches last week in Tallahassee.
Louisiana's roster has several scoring options: there are six players with 30-plus kills thus far.
Lolo Lambert (3.1 k/s) and Sarah Schnell (2.8 k/s) and are the early frontrunners leading the offense.
It's taken Lindsey Henry only three weeks to reach 30 blocks (33 actual). She's one of three Cajuns who've already vaulted into 20-plus blocks.
Setter Ryhan Miciotto collected three double-doubles of assists and digs on the Tallahassee trip.
Head coach Kristi Gray collected her 200th career win in the September 3 win over Southeastern.
In contrast 2025 when UL had 11 newcomers, this season's roster has 14 returning players.
Marlee Ervin, Grace Sweeney and Jazmine Gaston are each coming off a 150-plus kills seasons.
Lindsey Henry, who posted 88 blocks in her debut last season, is leading returner on the frontline.
Libero Kennedy Gustafson ranked Top 5 in the SBC last season with a career-best 392 digs (4.17/set).
The Ragin' Cajuns ranked Top 3 in the SBC in offense (kills per set and hitting percentage) in 2025.
In the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Ragin' Cajuns were picked fourth in the West division.

NUMBERS TO KNEAUX
2.3: UL's averaging 2.3 blocks per set using strength in numbers – three players already having reached 20-plus block assists.
7: Louisiana has either out-blocked or matched the opposition's block total in seven of the nine matches so far this season.
48: Kennedy Gustafson enters the week 48 digs shy of reaching the 1,000 career-dig mark.
50: Established as a D1 program in 1976, Louisiana Volleyball celebrates its 50th anniversary season in the fall of 2026.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin' Cajuns travel to Troy, Alabama to start Sun Belt Conference play with a two-match series against the Troy Trojans from Friday-Saturday, September 25-26.

UL and Troy are scheduled to open the two-match series inside Trojan Arena at 6:00 p.m. on Friday (Sept. 25) then conclude play on Saturday (Sept. 26) in a 2:00 p.m. contest. Both matches are being broadcast on ESPN+

The following week, Louisiana hosts Arkansas State in the SBC home opener from Thursday-Friday, October 1-2 at E.K. Long Gym.

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 Finishes Road Trip, Wraps Up Non-Conference at Home

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Players Mentioned

Marlee Ervin

Jazmine Gaston

Kennedy Gustafson

Lindsey Henry

Lolo Lambert

Sarah Schnell

Grace Sweeney

Emily Williams

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University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Louisiana Finishes Road Trip, Wraps Up Non-Conference at Home

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Players Mentioned

Marlee Ervin

Jazmine Gaston

Kennedy Gustafson

Lindsey Henry

Lolo Lambert

Sarah Schnell

Grace Sweeney

Emily Williams

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