Monday, October 27, 2014
Cajuns Halt Skid With Win Over ACU
LAFAYETTE, La. – After dropping the first set, the Ragin’ Cajuns rallied to take the next three sets from Abilene Christian and put an end to a season-long, three-match losing streak on Monday night at Earl K. Long Gym.
It was the first time the Cajuns (16-9) have met the Wildcats (4-20), a program in just its second year in Division I and coming off its first two league wins of the season over the weekend at New Orleans and Southeastern Louisiana.
Louisiana hit just .128 in the first set, but responded to hit .287 for the final three sets on their way to the win. Sara Mossakowski and Andrea Hole each turned in double-doubles for the Cajuns, Mossakowski with a team-high 14 kills and 13 digs, and Hole with 47 assists and 15 digs to go with six kills.
In all, Louisiana had three players with at least 10 kills and four with at least 10 digs on the night. Chanelle Gardner followed up Friday’s match in which she matched her career high in kills with a 12-kill, five-block effort that saw her hit .375 for the match. Stacey Reilly also had 10 kills to go with eight digs.
Caitlyn Auxilien led all players with 19 digs, while Katey Kyle reached double figures for the first time this season with 10 of her own. Kae Kae Lockhart also provided a nice boost off the bench, entering in the second set and adding five kills on eight swings and four blocks.
The Cajuns were their own worst enemy in the first set, committing nine attack errors and six misfires from the service line. Still, despite trailing 22-17 late in the set, UL managed to claw its way back to tie things at 24 apiece before the Wildcats responded after a timeout with a kill and a block to give themselves a 1-0 lead in the match.
UL carried the momentum of a strong finish to the first set into the second set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead and never trailing the rest of the way. Mossakowski and Gardner had three kills apiece in the set, but the Wildcats got as close as two points at 16-14 before a score from Mossakowski opened up a 6-1 run that upped the lead to a comfortable seven-point lead on their way to a nine-point win to tie things up at the half.
Reilly joined in with four kills in the third set, but the Cajuns still had to grit out of a 22-22 tie late in the set to go up 2-1. Kaylee Nemeth snapped the tie with a kill from the right side and Reilly had her hand on each of the final two points with a kill and a block with Lockhart to help the Cajuns to the win.
The balanced attack continued in the fourth set with three scores apiece from Mossakowski, Gardner and Lockhart as the Cajuns roared to a convincing win behind a match-high .444 hitting. ACU had it as close as 12-9, but Louisiana ended the match on an 8-1 run and got consecutive kills from Mossakowski to close it out.
Louisiana will stay at home for a pair of matches this weekend against two of the league leaders in the Sun Belt, beginning with a Halloween night match against Texas State, followed by a Sunday matinee versus Arkansas State.