University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
2023 Volleyball Roster
Barnes, Kara
Jersey Number 10
Kara Barnes
- Position:
- Middle Blocker
- Height:
- 5-11
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Rowlett, Texas
- High School:
- Sachse HS
Bio
Sun Belt Conference Academic Honor Roll (2023)
Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic All-Tournament Team (2022)
Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week (Aug. 30, 2022)
Sun Belt Conference Academic Honor Roll (2021)
Sun Belt Conference Academic Honor Roll (2020)
All-Sun Belt Second Team (2020)
Sun Belt Conference Academic Honor Roll (2019)
2022 (Junior)
Louisiana's top offensive threat from the middle, was consistent in the regular season hitting exactly .314 overall and in conference play ... ranked Top 10 in the Sun Belt in hitting percentage (overall and conference play) ... finished with 150-plus kills and 70-plus blocks, overall, for the third straight season ... in Sun Belt play, closed strong with at least six kills in each of the final eight matches and at least three blocks in seven of the eight outings ... starting with the ODU series on Oct. 20, turned in three straight dominant performances at the net with at least seven blocks in a SBC series highlighted by 12.0 total blocks vs. Southern Miss (1.3 per set).
2021 (Sophomore - COVID-19 Season)
Competed in 23 matches and played in a career-high 91 sets ... reached 180 kills and surpassed 70 blocks for the second straight season ... posted a career-high 88 blocks (16 BS, 72 BA) at a career-best rate of 0.97 blocks per set ... ranked Top 10 in the Sun Belt Conference in blocks per set ... tallied multiple blocks in all but four matches ... finished with a final blocks tally of five or more eight times ... established a new career-high of nine blocks (2 BS, 7 BA) on Sept. 9 at UTRGV ... turned in three other outings of seven blocks: Sept. 10 vs. Texas Southern, Oct. 9 vs. Little Rock and Oct.17 at Coastal Carolina ... increased career blocks total to 170 (38 BS, 132 BA) ... scored 180 kills on just 374 attack attempts ... six times in Sun Belt play scored five-plus kills on a .300-plus percentage with less than 25 attempts; three times the percentage was .500-plus on 15 of fewer attempts ... recorded six matches of double-digit kills, twice hitting .600 or higher when doing so ... started Sun Belt play tallying at least eight kills in the first seven matches as the Ragin' Cajuns sprinted out to a 6-1 start to league play ... pushed career kills total past 400 (increased to 404) ... season hitting percentage was above .300 for the second straight season ... final hitting percentage of .310 nearly equaled mark from the 2020 season (.311) ... was dominant in the team's two non-conference tournaments, producing 36 kills at the Southern Miss Classic followed y 24 kills at the UTRGV Tournament ... threw up 31 total blocks combined in addition to offensive production at the two tournaments ... the .647 hitting percentage with 12 kills vs. Texas Southern (Sept. 10) at the UTRGV Tournament marked a season-high hitting percentage in a double-figure kills outing ... contributed eight kills off only 13 swings on Sept. 21 vs. Lamar to help the team provide head coach Kristi Gray with a successful home debut ... picked up five of her eight kills in the program's historic win in San Marcos at Texas State over the first two sets ... used a 10-kill, seven-block effort to pace the win over Little Rock at Earl K. Long Gym (Oct. 9) ... was nearly unstoppable in the visit to ULM on Oct. 12, scoring eight kills - without error - on 11 total attempts ... with six kills on the exact amount of attempts over the third and fourth sets, led the charge as Louisiana pushed Coastal Carolina to a decisive fifth set on Oct. 17 in Conway, S.C. ... made a memorable debut in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, tallying 17 kills over 23 swings on a .609 hitting percentage ... hit .600-plus in both SBC Tournament matches, starting off by recording 11 kills off 15 attempts with a .600 hitting percentage.
2020 (Sophomore)
Appeared in every match and set that Louisiana played during the regular season portion of the campaign ... was the team's top threat from the middle blocker position and ranked Top 10 in the Sun Belt with a .311 hitting percentage ... carried a .300-plus hitting percentage throughout the entire season ... turned in 12 matches where she had a .300-plus hitting percentage with double-digit attack attempts ... nine times would register at least five kills while hitting .400 or higher ... totaled 200 kills on just 425 attack attempts ... averaged a career-best 2.56 kills per set ... surpassed 100 kills for the first time in her collegiate career ... was one of only three Ragin' Cajuns to reach 200 kills (joining Hali Wisnoskie and Kelsey Bennett) ... seven times produced double-digit kills on 30 or fewer attack attempts ... turned in 13 matches of at least five kills on less than 20 attack attempts ... had a breakout season on the frontline finishing with a team-leading 71 blocks (20 BS, 51 BA) - seven times more than her freshman campaign ... threw up multiple blocks in all but three of her 22 appearances, reaching or surpassing four blocks in nine matches ... threw up 51 blocks (16 BS, 35 BA) over the 59 sets competed in during Sun Belt Conference play ... rounded up 51 digs and scored a career-best in aces (8) ... began the season with a dominant and efficient effort against Houston Baptist, totaling 23 kills (3.3 per set) on just 40 swings at a .475 hitting percentage throughout the series ... hit .500 and needed only 16 swings to post 10 kills in the series opener ... helped Louisiana close out the series sweep on Saturday by landing 10 kills over the final two sets of a deadlocked match ... served up four straight points for an 11-6 edge in the second set of the contest as the Ragin' Cajuns went on to win and bounce back from an opening-set loss ... hit above .450 for the third straight match to start the season and scored eight kills off of only 13 swings in the series-opening win over South Alabama (Sept. 11) ... led the way with four blocks in the opening match of the Lamar doubleheader (Sept. 19) which included combining with Taylor Gates for the stuff on set point in a tightly contested 27-25 second set victory which gave Louisiana a 2-0 match lead ... followed up with another four-block effort in the second half of the doubleheader ... generated nine kills in the first two sets as the Ragin' Cajuns claimed a 2-0 match lead in a five-set marathon at Little Rock in the Sun Belt opening match ... totaled 31 kills in the series with the Trojans marking the first of three times reaching 30 kills in a three-match SBC series ... with 12 kills in the series finale at ULM began a season-best stretch of three consecutive matches with double-digit kills ... threw up a then career-high six blocks to make an impact defensively as well in locking up the sweep of the Warhawks ... led Louisiana in kills both matches of the series-opening doubleheader vs. two-time defending SBC champion Texas State at Earl K. Long Gym highlighted by a career-high 16 kills on only 25 swings on a .480 hitting percentage in the nightcap ... the .480 mark was a personal-best for a match with 20-plus attempts ... opened the Arkansas State series (Oct. 23) tying her career-high kills figure with 16 scores off of 33 attempts ... generated seven kills alone in the first set including timely ones down the stretch as Louisiana held on for the first of two critical 25-23 set victories in the four-set match triumph ... had a hand in a team-leading five blocks in the series finale vs. ASU, the most important being back-to-back combined stuffs with Kelsey Bennett to break a 22-all tie in the second set which led to a 2-0 match lead ... posted nine kills off of 18 error-free swings in the series-sweep clinching win over ULM on Oct. 31 ... contributed six of her 10 kills in the series opener at UT Arlington (Nov. 6) over the third and fourth sets as Louisiana began the comeback trail for the reverse sweep ... later that night posted a career-high eight blocks (5 BS, 3 BA) to lead the charge in the team's season-high 18-block effort ... had a hand in four of the team's eight blocks during a key second-set victory as the Ragin' Cajuns bounced back from an opening-set loss to claim the match which clinched the No. 2 seed from the Sun Belt's West Division.
2019 (Freshman)
Saw action in 16 matches, appearing in a total of 32 sets in her collegiate debut season ... scored at least one kill in 10 of the matches competed in, ending the season with 24 kills ... concluded the season with eight digs and 11 blocks ... highlight of frontline defense was multiple blocks posted in all three matches at Florida's Gators Invitational (Sept. 20-21) ... landed a kill on her lone swing and threw up a block in her first collegiate match on Aug. 30 vs. UTEP ... scored her season-high of five kills, and added two blocks (1 BS, 1 BA), in The DoubleTree Classic finale vs. Tulane (Aug. 31) ... tied her season-high kills figure in the sweep of Southern Miss on Sept. 10 ... found the floor for four kills in the third set alone, helping Louisiana complete the straight sets sweep ... against Oklahoma's defense on Sept. 14, scored a kill in all but one of her four attack attempts ... posted two blocks against Northern Arizona, Liberty and nationally ranked Florida at the Gators Invitational ... appeared in the team's first five Sun Belt Conference matches, checking in for key defensive plays ... last appearance was Oct. 11 at South Alabama, then latter part of the season was limited due to injury.
High School
Four-year varsity starter at Sachse (Texas) High School … compiled 1,026 kills and 275 blocks during her prep career … named the District 10-6A MVP and was selected to the TAVC Class 6A All-State Team as a senior … received district offensive player of the year honors in 2016 and 2017, was the district's blocks leader during the same timeframe and was the 2018 Sachse High Triple Crown Winner for Athletics … helped lead the Mustangs to four straight playoff appearances and the 2018 district title … along with fellow Ragin’ Cajun classmate Celeste Darling, led Dallas Skyline Juniors Volleyball to a Top 10 finish at the 2019 Junior Nationals.
Personal
Born Feb. 12, 2001 in Memphis, Tenn. … daughter of Roger and Marcia Barnes … both parents are employees at former Sun Belt institution University of Arkansas at Little Rock … is a pre-med major.
Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic All-Tournament Team (2022)
Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week (Aug. 30, 2022)
Sun Belt Conference Academic Honor Roll (2021)
Sun Belt Conference Academic Honor Roll (2020)
All-Sun Belt Second Team (2020)
Sun Belt Conference Academic Honor Roll (2019)
2022 (Junior)
Louisiana's top offensive threat from the middle, was consistent in the regular season hitting exactly .314 overall and in conference play ... ranked Top 10 in the Sun Belt in hitting percentage (overall and conference play) ... finished with 150-plus kills and 70-plus blocks, overall, for the third straight season ... in Sun Belt play, closed strong with at least six kills in each of the final eight matches and at least three blocks in seven of the eight outings ... starting with the ODU series on Oct. 20, turned in three straight dominant performances at the net with at least seven blocks in a SBC series highlighted by 12.0 total blocks vs. Southern Miss (1.3 per set).
2021 (Sophomore - COVID-19 Season)
Competed in 23 matches and played in a career-high 91 sets ... reached 180 kills and surpassed 70 blocks for the second straight season ... posted a career-high 88 blocks (16 BS, 72 BA) at a career-best rate of 0.97 blocks per set ... ranked Top 10 in the Sun Belt Conference in blocks per set ... tallied multiple blocks in all but four matches ... finished with a final blocks tally of five or more eight times ... established a new career-high of nine blocks (2 BS, 7 BA) on Sept. 9 at UTRGV ... turned in three other outings of seven blocks: Sept. 10 vs. Texas Southern, Oct. 9 vs. Little Rock and Oct.17 at Coastal Carolina ... increased career blocks total to 170 (38 BS, 132 BA) ... scored 180 kills on just 374 attack attempts ... six times in Sun Belt play scored five-plus kills on a .300-plus percentage with less than 25 attempts; three times the percentage was .500-plus on 15 of fewer attempts ... recorded six matches of double-digit kills, twice hitting .600 or higher when doing so ... started Sun Belt play tallying at least eight kills in the first seven matches as the Ragin' Cajuns sprinted out to a 6-1 start to league play ... pushed career kills total past 400 (increased to 404) ... season hitting percentage was above .300 for the second straight season ... final hitting percentage of .310 nearly equaled mark from the 2020 season (.311) ... was dominant in the team's two non-conference tournaments, producing 36 kills at the Southern Miss Classic followed y 24 kills at the UTRGV Tournament ... threw up 31 total blocks combined in addition to offensive production at the two tournaments ... the .647 hitting percentage with 12 kills vs. Texas Southern (Sept. 10) at the UTRGV Tournament marked a season-high hitting percentage in a double-figure kills outing ... contributed eight kills off only 13 swings on Sept. 21 vs. Lamar to help the team provide head coach Kristi Gray with a successful home debut ... picked up five of her eight kills in the program's historic win in San Marcos at Texas State over the first two sets ... used a 10-kill, seven-block effort to pace the win over Little Rock at Earl K. Long Gym (Oct. 9) ... was nearly unstoppable in the visit to ULM on Oct. 12, scoring eight kills - without error - on 11 total attempts ... with six kills on the exact amount of attempts over the third and fourth sets, led the charge as Louisiana pushed Coastal Carolina to a decisive fifth set on Oct. 17 in Conway, S.C. ... made a memorable debut in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, tallying 17 kills over 23 swings on a .609 hitting percentage ... hit .600-plus in both SBC Tournament matches, starting off by recording 11 kills off 15 attempts with a .600 hitting percentage.
2020 (Sophomore)
Appeared in every match and set that Louisiana played during the regular season portion of the campaign ... was the team's top threat from the middle blocker position and ranked Top 10 in the Sun Belt with a .311 hitting percentage ... carried a .300-plus hitting percentage throughout the entire season ... turned in 12 matches where she had a .300-plus hitting percentage with double-digit attack attempts ... nine times would register at least five kills while hitting .400 or higher ... totaled 200 kills on just 425 attack attempts ... averaged a career-best 2.56 kills per set ... surpassed 100 kills for the first time in her collegiate career ... was one of only three Ragin' Cajuns to reach 200 kills (joining Hali Wisnoskie and Kelsey Bennett) ... seven times produced double-digit kills on 30 or fewer attack attempts ... turned in 13 matches of at least five kills on less than 20 attack attempts ... had a breakout season on the frontline finishing with a team-leading 71 blocks (20 BS, 51 BA) - seven times more than her freshman campaign ... threw up multiple blocks in all but three of her 22 appearances, reaching or surpassing four blocks in nine matches ... threw up 51 blocks (16 BS, 35 BA) over the 59 sets competed in during Sun Belt Conference play ... rounded up 51 digs and scored a career-best in aces (8) ... began the season with a dominant and efficient effort against Houston Baptist, totaling 23 kills (3.3 per set) on just 40 swings at a .475 hitting percentage throughout the series ... hit .500 and needed only 16 swings to post 10 kills in the series opener ... helped Louisiana close out the series sweep on Saturday by landing 10 kills over the final two sets of a deadlocked match ... served up four straight points for an 11-6 edge in the second set of the contest as the Ragin' Cajuns went on to win and bounce back from an opening-set loss ... hit above .450 for the third straight match to start the season and scored eight kills off of only 13 swings in the series-opening win over South Alabama (Sept. 11) ... led the way with four blocks in the opening match of the Lamar doubleheader (Sept. 19) which included combining with Taylor Gates for the stuff on set point in a tightly contested 27-25 second set victory which gave Louisiana a 2-0 match lead ... followed up with another four-block effort in the second half of the doubleheader ... generated nine kills in the first two sets as the Ragin' Cajuns claimed a 2-0 match lead in a five-set marathon at Little Rock in the Sun Belt opening match ... totaled 31 kills in the series with the Trojans marking the first of three times reaching 30 kills in a three-match SBC series ... with 12 kills in the series finale at ULM began a season-best stretch of three consecutive matches with double-digit kills ... threw up a then career-high six blocks to make an impact defensively as well in locking up the sweep of the Warhawks ... led Louisiana in kills both matches of the series-opening doubleheader vs. two-time defending SBC champion Texas State at Earl K. Long Gym highlighted by a career-high 16 kills on only 25 swings on a .480 hitting percentage in the nightcap ... the .480 mark was a personal-best for a match with 20-plus attempts ... opened the Arkansas State series (Oct. 23) tying her career-high kills figure with 16 scores off of 33 attempts ... generated seven kills alone in the first set including timely ones down the stretch as Louisiana held on for the first of two critical 25-23 set victories in the four-set match triumph ... had a hand in a team-leading five blocks in the series finale vs. ASU, the most important being back-to-back combined stuffs with Kelsey Bennett to break a 22-all tie in the second set which led to a 2-0 match lead ... posted nine kills off of 18 error-free swings in the series-sweep clinching win over ULM on Oct. 31 ... contributed six of her 10 kills in the series opener at UT Arlington (Nov. 6) over the third and fourth sets as Louisiana began the comeback trail for the reverse sweep ... later that night posted a career-high eight blocks (5 BS, 3 BA) to lead the charge in the team's season-high 18-block effort ... had a hand in four of the team's eight blocks during a key second-set victory as the Ragin' Cajuns bounced back from an opening-set loss to claim the match which clinched the No. 2 seed from the Sun Belt's West Division.
2019 (Freshman)
Saw action in 16 matches, appearing in a total of 32 sets in her collegiate debut season ... scored at least one kill in 10 of the matches competed in, ending the season with 24 kills ... concluded the season with eight digs and 11 blocks ... highlight of frontline defense was multiple blocks posted in all three matches at Florida's Gators Invitational (Sept. 20-21) ... landed a kill on her lone swing and threw up a block in her first collegiate match on Aug. 30 vs. UTEP ... scored her season-high of five kills, and added two blocks (1 BS, 1 BA), in The DoubleTree Classic finale vs. Tulane (Aug. 31) ... tied her season-high kills figure in the sweep of Southern Miss on Sept. 10 ... found the floor for four kills in the third set alone, helping Louisiana complete the straight sets sweep ... against Oklahoma's defense on Sept. 14, scored a kill in all but one of her four attack attempts ... posted two blocks against Northern Arizona, Liberty and nationally ranked Florida at the Gators Invitational ... appeared in the team's first five Sun Belt Conference matches, checking in for key defensive plays ... last appearance was Oct. 11 at South Alabama, then latter part of the season was limited due to injury.
High School
Four-year varsity starter at Sachse (Texas) High School … compiled 1,026 kills and 275 blocks during her prep career … named the District 10-6A MVP and was selected to the TAVC Class 6A All-State Team as a senior … received district offensive player of the year honors in 2016 and 2017, was the district's blocks leader during the same timeframe and was the 2018 Sachse High Triple Crown Winner for Athletics … helped lead the Mustangs to four straight playoff appearances and the 2018 district title … along with fellow Ragin’ Cajun classmate Celeste Darling, led Dallas Skyline Juniors Volleyball to a Top 10 finish at the 2019 Junior Nationals.
Personal
Born Feb. 12, 2001 in Memphis, Tenn. … daughter of Roger and Marcia Barnes … both parents are employees at former Sun Belt institution University of Arkansas at Little Rock … is a pre-med major.
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