Friday, October 31, 2014
UALR Extends Record Winning Streak to 15 Matches
MONROE, La. – The UALR volleyball team extended it school record for consecutive wins to 15 matches after a 3-0 sweep (25-22, 25-12, 25-17) of ULM on Friday night.
Senior Edina Begic led the Trojans’ offense with 18 kills, the second-most in a three-set match this season. Begic added two service aces to her season total, while also recording her sixth highest hitting percentage for the year with .417
After having the lead for the majority of the first set, UALR had to play catch up after being down 17-20 late in the set. The Trojans caught fire and went on an 8-2 run to capture the first set from the Warhawks.
There was never a doubt to the second set as UALR’s late momentum from the first carried over to give the Trojans a smoking 19-7 start. With an 11-6 lead, UALR scored eight straight points before ULM was forced to take a timeout. This was part of a 27-9 run going back to the end of the first set. The set ended up being UALR’s most lopsided win of the night as it took the frame with a 13 point margin. The Trojans hit a match-high .520 for the set while the Warhawks hit .100.
The final set was almost as one-sided as the second as UALR started the frame with a 17-7 lead. With an 11-7 advantage, UALR scored six straight points to increase its lead to 17-7. The Warhawks would try to gain some ground on the Trojans, but it wasn’t enough as UALR sealed the set and match with Begic’s 18th kill. UALR ended the set hitting .356 to ULM’s .065.
Junior Sonja Milanovic was one kill short of earning her 11th double-double for the season as she pulled in nine kills and 10 digs, while also adding two service aces.
Sophomore Megan Mathis racked up a career-high of seven kills, as well as adding 32 assists. Mathis also put up three block assists.
Sophomore Edina Selimovic led with Trojans with six total blocks (two solo and four assisted), while also contributing six kills.
Senior Capri Rino recorded the highest dig total in a three-set match this season with 19.
Freshman Marina Avram set a new career-high with five digs.
Senior Adisa Hodzic and sophomore Carolee Dillard added 4 and 3 kills, respectively.
As a team, UALR’s 47 kills tied for the highest in a three-set match this season, while the Trojans’ 53 digs were the second-most in a three-set match this year. UALR outhit ULM by a margin of .361 to .126.
UALR will go for its 16th consecutive win when it returns to the Jack Stephens Center to face Troy on Saturday (Nov. 1) at 7:30 p.m.
ULM Falls to UALR on Halloween
MONROE, La. – Despite holding a lead in each set of the night, the ULM volleyball team was not able to overcome the top team in the conference as UALR topped the Warhawks 3-0 (25-22, 25-12, 25-17) on Halloween Friday at the Fant Ewing Coliseum in Monroe, La.
Hadley Swartz and Hope Pawlik led the way for ULM (7-20, 1-13 Sun Belt) with eight kills apiece. Swartz was second on the team with eight digs, while Pawlik registered seven digs.
Kaitlyn Shearer continues to play well as the sophomore picked up seven kills, one assist, one block and a dig. Bayleigh Hoffman assisted on 30 of the Warhawks’ 34 kills.
Marcela Araya’s streak of 20-plus digs is intact as the senior collected 24 digs in the effort. The Costa Rica native is now 41 digs shy of breaking her school record of 549 digs in a season.
Freshmen Jennifer McClendon and Baylee Willingham chipped in eight five kills each.
Trailing 16-11 in the first set, the Warhawks rallied for nine of the next 10 points, forcing Trojans (20-4, 14-0 Sun Belt) head coach to call a timeout before UALR picked up steam. Even though ULM outhit its opponent 16 to 13 (kills), UALR captured the set, 25-22.
Following a triumph in the second set, the Trojans were able to put the match away in straight sets with a 25-17 win.
The Warhawks will return to action next weekend for back-to-back matches versus Troy and Georgia State beginning Friday, Nov. 7.
UTA completes comeback win at Georgia State
ATLANTA, Ga. - Behind a true team effort, UT Arlington rallied from a 2-0 deficit for an impressive 3-2 (21-25, 26-28, 25-22, 25-17, 15-9) comeback win at Georgia State on Friday night.
The win puts the Mavericks at 21-5 this season with an 11-3 mark in the Sun Belt while the Panthers fall to 7-15 overall with a 5-8 record in the conference. UTA also clinches their eighth win in a row which is the longest streak for the Mavs since 2010.
The Mavericks found themselves in a deep hole after dropping the first two sets, but UTA roared back to win the match in five as three players registered double-digit kills. The win marks the first time that the Mavericks have comeback from a 2-0 deficit since the 2007 season when UTA came back to defeat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi after dropping the first two sets.
Qiana Canete led the Mavs as the Copperas Cove native recorded a team high 16 kills in the match. Canete put together her 17th double-double effort of the season as she also put up 20 digs in the match.
Briana Sharratt and Taylor Gross also chipped in for UTA offensively as the duo recorded 13 and 11 kills respectively. Sharratt also made her presence known at the net as the sophomore MB recorded a team high six blocks on the night as the Mavs out blocked the Panthers 10-9.
Caitlyn Cooney did her part defensively as the junior libero recorded a team high 25 digs in the match.
UTA out hit Georgia State .233 to .167 to go along with only 22 hitting errors for the Mavs compared to 33 for the Panthers.
The Mavericks will complete the weekend road trip on Sunday when they take on Appalachian State at 11 a.m. on Nov. 2.
Five-Set Thriller Ends with 3-2 Panther Loss
ATLANTA – In a matchup with the second-place team in the conference, Georgia State’s volleyball team fell 3-2 in a nail-biter to UT Arlington on Friday night at the GSU Sports Arena. The Panthers lost 25-21, 28-26, 22-25, 17-25, and 9-15.
Four Panthers finished with double-digit kill totals with junior Deidra Bohannon leading the way with 20 kills. Junior Natalia Nieto dished out 50 assists and recorded 22 digs to post her ninth double-double on the season. Junior Gabby Serafin led the team in digs with 23 and Bohannon added 18 to record her eighth double-double.
“We showed fight tonight. That’s a physical team to go against and we showed that we could get behind, but find the strength to recover like we did in Set 2,” head coach Sally Polhamus said. “We need more people to step up. Kristina Stinson had a good start tonight and Natalia [Nieto] was wonderful on defense. We had some good bright spots, we just have to piece it together.”
NOTING THE PANTHERS…
·The loss ended the Panthers’ three-match win streak. The Mavericks extended their streak to eight matches, second best in the Sun Belt.
·Sophomore Kristina Stinson and junior Kitan Ajanaku posted 12 kills each and junior Eliza Zachary finished 14 blocks and four kills.
·The loss drops Georgia State to 5-8 in the conference and 7-15 overall. UTA improves to 21-5 overall and 11-3 in the conference.
The Panthers jumped all over the Mavericks in Set 1 as Stinson led the attack with six kills on .308 hitting. After breaking a 14-14 tie, GSU went up 22-15 before winning the first frame 25-21. The Panthers outhit the Mavericks .238-.214 in the first set.
Georgia State showed fight in the second set. UTA was in control for most of the set, but Zachary, who had six kills in the set, and her teammates stayed close enough to make a final push at the end. Down 24-22, libero Gabby Serafin came up big for GSU with a kill on set point. The set was tied at 26 when senior Andrea Book and Ajanaku posted back-to-back kills to win the set 28-26 and take a 2-0 lead into intermission.
After the break, the Mavericks took control of the game and began the comeback. UTA hit .324 in Set 3 and .450 in Set 4 to tie the match a 2-2. Riding the momentum, UT Arlington prevailed in the final set to pull off the comeback and defeat the Panthers 3-2.
Georgia State is back in action on Saturday when they visit rival Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Ga. For a 2 p.m. meeting. Follow along on Twitter via @GeorgiaStateVB as the Panthers face the Eagles for the second time this season. GSU took the first meeting 3-1 at the GSU Sports Arena.
Georgia Southern Downs South Alabama 3-1
STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern seniors Jamie DeRatt and Kym Coley combined for 31 kills and a .397 hitting percentage to lead the Eagles to a 3-1 (25-20, 27-29, 25-17, 25-23) Sun Belt Conference volleyball victory over South Alabama in Hanner Fieldhouse Friday night.
It was the Eagles’ eighth straight victory in Hanner and the 17th in the last 18th matches, dating back to last season. Coley hit .632 for the match, notching 12 kills on 19 swings without an error. DeRatt collected 19 kills and added 10 digs and two blocks.
Kat Minnerly posted 53 assists, 14 digs and four blocks for the Eagles (7-17, 6-8), and Megan Chevalier recorded 12 kills. Leah Joseph chipped in with nine kills and five blocks.
“They all played well, but the seniors really led the way,” said Georgia Southern coach Dustin Wood.
Jessica Lewis tallied a match-high 22 kills to go along with 12 digs for South Alabama (10-13, 5-8), while Mechell Daniel registered 19 kills, 13 digs and three blocks.
With Georgia Southern leading the match 2-1, the fourth set was tightly-contested. The Eagles had a two-point working margin most of the way, but a three-point run, sparked by a Nikki Gittens kill, gave the Jaguars their first lead of the frame at 23-22.
DeRatt responded with a kill for the Eagles, and Joseph and Minnerly followed that with a combined block to make it match point. The Jaguars called timeout, but Coley took the drama out of things by serving up an ace for the final point.
After the Jags posted a 29-27 win in the second set to tie the match, Georgia Southern responded by hitting .318 in the third set while holding South Alabama to an .031 mark. Joseph and Coley each posted three kills in the frame as Minnerly was able to get them the ball.
“We adjusted some defensive stuff and tried to spread it around on offense,” said Wood. “They were keying on Kym a little bit so we tried to move her around and get Leah going as well.”
Georgia Southern has a quick turnaround as the Eagles play host to Georgia State Saturday at 2 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse.
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Lewis' and Daniel's Double-Doubles Not Enough as Jags Fall 3-1 at Georgia Southern
STATESBORO, Ga. – Sophomore outside hitters Jessica Lewis and Mechell Daniel each carded double-doubles Friday evening, but it wasn't enough for the University of South Alabama volleyball team as the Jags fell 3-1 (20-25, 29-27, 17-25, 23-25) at Georgia Southern at Hanner Fieldhouse.
Lewis led all players with a season-high 22 kills, while also tying a season best with 12 digs. The Huntsville, Ala., native also had three block assists and hit a team-high .302. The double-double was the second of the season and fourth of her career.
Daniel registered her 10th double-double of the season with 19 kills and 13 digs, while also posting three block assists.
Freshman setter Emma Anderson had a career-high 48 assists and nearly recorded a double-double of her own with eight digs. Sarah Richardson paced USA with five block assists and Jenna Hassell had 17 digs. With those 17 digs, Hassell passed former Jag Ninette Encalade for second-place on the Jaguars career chart. Hassell now has 1,463 for her career.
The Jags (10-13, 5-8 SBC) will now return home to host Texas State on Sunday with first serve set for noon at Jag Gym. Live stats and web streaming for the match versus the Bobcats will be available at www.USAJaguars.com and can be accessed on the Jaguar volleyball schedule page.
Georgia Southern improved to 7-17 on the year and 6-8 in the Sun Belt with the win. Jamie DeRatt led the Eagles with 19 kills and also recorded a double-double of her own with 10 digs.
Kym Coley and Megan Chevalier also added 12 kills apiece. Coley had a .632 hitting percentage, posting her 12 kills on 19 attacks with no errors.
GSU setter Kat Minnerly added 53 assists and 14 digs. Eagle libero Avery Stephens had a team-high 15 digs in the win.
Leah Joseph led the frontline for Georgia Southern with five block assists. Minnerly also had four block assists of her own, while the Eagles had three solo blocks and 12 block assists in the match.
SET ONE: GEORGIA SOUTHERN 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 20
Led by the play of Daniel, South Alabama opened the match up by taking five of the first six points and then led 7-3 following another kill by Daniel. The Chelmsford, England, native had four kills and a block assists during the early going for the Jags.
The Eagles came right back and quickly tied the contest back up at 9-9 on a kill by Leah Joseph. DeRatt began the run with a put away, while Joseph and Minnerly combined twice to block a Jag attack.
Neither team was able to pull away over the remainder of the set until with the frame tied at 20-20, Coley and DeRatt pushed across five unanswered points to seal the 25-20 first-set win for Georgia Southern.
Daniel and DeRatt led their respective clubs with six kills each in the opening set.
SET TWO: SOUTH ALABAMA 29, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 27
Leading 1-0 in the match, Georgia Southern got off to the quick start in the second set, beginning the frame on a 5-1 run. Chevalier led the Eagle run with three kills.
USA battled back and tied the set back up at 8-8 on a kill by Symone Stephenson, but GSU retook the lead on the next point and pushed its lead back out to three.
Trailing 18-15, the Jaguars fought back and tie the set back up at 18 following a kill by Daniel and a pair of Eagle attack errors.
Over the next several points, the two clubs battled back and forth exchanging the lead before eventually heading into extra points.
Georgia Southern held set point at 24-23 after a kill by Coley, but Nikki Gittens answered back with a put away of her own. USA fought off another set point and eventually took a one-point lead of its own (26-25). The two teams traded the next three points and with the frame tied at 27-27, USA was finally able to push across the final two points to even the match at a set a piece. Lewis slammed home her fifth kill of the frame and then teamed up with Richardson for the block to clinch the 29-27 win.
Lewis had six kills in the frame, while Daniel had four. Chevalier had eight of her 12 kills for the Eagles in the match during the second set and hit .636 in the frame.
South Alabama posted its best hitting percentage of the match in the third set with a .325 percentage.
SET THREE: GEORGIA SOUTHERN 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 17
Lewis posted a kill to give USA the first point in the third set, but the Jaguars committed four-straight attack errors to give GSU the momentum and the Eagles later took a 7-2 lead on a kill by Coley.
Georgia Southern extended its lead out to as much as nine (14-5) after block assists from Chevalier and Joseph and looked to be in control.
Trailing 21-13, the Jaguars made a late rally attempt and reeled off four consecutive points, trimming the deficit to four (21-17) on block assists by Anderson and Richardson, but coming out of a time out, GSU closed out the set with four straight points of its own to take the 25-17 third-set win.
Minnerly sealed the eight-point win with an ace.
USA struggled offensively in the third frame committing nine attack errors and hitting .031.
SET FOUR: GEORGIA SOUTHERN 25, SOUTH ALABAMA 23
The Eagles opened up the final set by taking the first three-points and held the lead for a good portion of the frame.
Over the next several points, USA was able to cut the Georgia Southern lead to one on 12 occasions. Lewis and Daniel helped the Jaguars hang around as they each had eight and six kills, respectively in the frame.
South Alabama finally tied the frame up at 22-22 on a GSU attack error and then grabbed its first lead of the set (23-22) on another Eagle error.
Coming out of a time out though, DeRatt tied the set back up with a kill. Joseph and Minnerly then teamed up for a block and Coley clinched the set and the match with an ace.
NOTES: With the loss, South Alabama falls to 0-5 in the all-time series with Georgia Southern. Jessica Lewis led all players with a season-high 22 kills versus the Eagles, while also tying a season best with 12 digs. The double-double was the second of the season and fourth of her career. Fellow sophomore Mechell Daniel registered her 10th double-double of the season with 19 kills and 13 digs, while also posting three block assists. It was also her third-straight double-double and sixth in Sun Belt Conference play. Freshman setter Emma Anderson had a career-high 48 assists and nearly recorded a double-double of her own with eight digs. The loss was the fifth in the last six matches for the Jaguars. With her 17 digs, senior libero Jenna Hassell passed former Jag Ninette Encalade for second-place on the Jaguars career chart. Hassell now has 1,463 for her career.
A-State Volleyball Sweeps Troy
JONESBORO, Ark. (10/31/14) – The Arkansas State volleyball team swept Troy 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-21) for its third straight Sun Belt Conference win Friday night at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro.
The Red Wolves (14-8, 9-4) fell behind the Trojans (9-17, 1-13) early in the first set 7-5, but came back to take a 10-8 lead on a Drew Jones kill. Troy regained the lead at 11-10, but A-State battled back to earn a 17-16 edge on a Trojan attack error. The Red Wolves wouldn’t relinquish the lead after that and earned a 25-19 victory in the first set.
A-State took control of the second set early by jumping out to a 10-5 advantage to force Troy to call a timeout. After the timeout, the Trojans earned the next point to get within four, but never could get any closer. The Red Wolves extended their lead to 21-15 on a Sarah Kemp kill and Troy used its last timeout of the set. The Trojans won the next point on a service error, but A-State closed the set on a 4-0 run to earn a 25-16 win in the second set and 2-0 lead in the match.
After intermission, Arkansas State wasted little time in racing out to a 5-2 lead on a Kariana Castanon-Hill kill, but Troy fought back to take a 6-5 lead in the set after a 4-0 run. A-State quickly responded with a 4-0 run of its own for a 9-6 lead and took its biggest advantage of the set at 20-13 on a Trojan service error. Troy fought hard to get back within three points at 24-21, but a Jessica Uke kill sealed the 25-21 third set victory and clinched a 3-0 match win for the Red Wolves.
“I know Troy’s record doesn’t reflect it, but they are much better than their record would indicate,” A-State volleyball coach David Rehr. “We caught them right after they had an injury that affected their play tonight. I’m excited the most about our hitting percentage tonight. We’re happy to have nine wins in conference and look forward to playing Louisiana-Lafayette Sunday.”
Jones and Uke tallied 10 kills each to lead the Red Wolves, while Kemp and Kelsey Reis registered nine kills each. Uke and Reis both had a hitting percentage of .500 to lead the team. Mallory Warrington handed out 38 assists to help the A-State offense record a season-high .364 hitting percentage. Defensively, Markie Schaedig recorded 21 digs, while Uke recorded three blocks. Warrington, Reis, Hannah Robey, and Marie Less all had a service ace for the Red Wolves.
“I set the person that I think is going to help us win and I think all our hitters did a great job tonight,” Warrington said. “Our defense really picked it up and played solid throughout the whole match.”
The Red Wolves return to action Sunday, Nov. 2 when they travel to Lafayette, La., to take on the Ragin’ Cajuns. First serve from Earl K. Long Gym is set for noon, and fans can keep up with the entire match’s action by viewing live stats at AStateRedWolves.com and by following @AStateGameday on Twitter. For the latest on the A-State volleyball team follow the squad on Twitter (@stAteVolleyball).
Trojans Fall at Arkansas State
JONESBORO, Arkansas – The Troy volleyball team started its weekend road trip with a three-set loss at Arkansas State, 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-21), on Friday night at the Convocation Center.
Troy (9-17, 1-13) couldn't snap its losing streak, now at 13 matches, as the Red Wolves completed the season sweep of the Trojans. Darby Griff was a bright spot on the night for Troy as the junior middle hitter posted 11 kills and no errors on 16 attempts for a .688 attack percentage.
However, no other Trojans hit over .200 as the Trojans hit just .165 as a team. Arkansas State (14-8, 9-4) hit .364 as a team, including hitting over .400 in the first two sets.
The first set was close early and featured eight ties, including as late as 16-16. However, the Red Wolves scored nine of the final 12 points on their way to a 25-19 win. Arkansas State jumped out to a 5-1 lead early in the second set and Troy hit a match-low .088 as the Red Wolves went on to a 25-16 win.
In the final set, a five-point run was the difference as Arkansas State turned a 14-12 lead into a 19-12 lead on its way to a 25-21 win.
Ali Dowdall had a team-high 14 digs for Troy while Blair Winston tied a career high with 13 digs. The Trojans, who average over 2.00 blocks/set, has just two in the entire match on Friday.
Arkansas State was led offensively by 10 kills from both Jessica Uke and Drew Jones. Markie Schaedig posted a match-high 21 digs.
Troy returns to the floor on Sunday when it travels to take on Sun Belt leader UALR. First serve at the Jack Stephens Center in set for 12 p.m.
For more information on Troy Athletics, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube by searching for Troy Athletics.
Bobcats Win Thriller in Mahoney’s Return
LAFAYETTE, La. – Texas State survived a five-set thriller (25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 13-25, 15-12) at UL Lafayette Friday night in Caylin Mahoney’s return to the court to improve to 16-10 on the season and 11-3 in the Sun Belt Conference. The win keeps Texas State undefeated in nine meetings with UL Lafayette in history.
In the eight previous meetings with the Bobcats, the Ragin’ Cajuns have never won more than one set. Friday night, the Bobcats were up 2-0, and then the match turned spooky for Halloween. UL Lafayette came back to win the third and fourth sets, but the Bobcats had a strong start to gain control in the fifth set and persevered for the team’s first road victory since Sept. 27 at Troy.
Mahoney gave out 39 assists with 17 digs for a double-double in the Sun Belt Conference’s 2014 Preseason Setter of the Year’s first match of the season. She added six kills and a block in the match. Sierra Smith helped with the setting duties, giving out 11 in the match, and leading the Bobcats and all players in digs with 24 in the match.
Alexandra Simms and Jordan Kohl both led Texas State offensively with 11 kills each, but Mahoney was able to get a number of players involved with Keeley Davis finishing with eight kills, Lauren Kirch and Amanda Watkins each had seven, and Kelsey Weynand added five more. Kirch led the Bobcats in blocks with five, but Kohl was in on four.
The Ragin’ Cajuns started on a 3-0 run and pushed the lead to 6-1 after Texas State scored. The Bobcats, however, came storming back with kills from Kohl and Davis along with consecutive blocks with Kirch in on both of them. Thanks to a ULL hitting error, Texas State pulled ahead, 7-6.
Later in the set, down 15-13, the Bobcats put a run together to go ahead, 17-15. A ULL error was the first point of the run, but Smith served up an ace and Kirch followed it with a kill. A block from Kohl and Kirch was the next point to put Texas State up two, 17-15, and force a timeout from UL Lafayette.
The Bobcats came out on top in the opening frame, 25-23, thanks to a number of hitting errors down the stretch from UL Lafayette. The Ragin’ Cajuns finished the first frame with eight hitting errors and two service errors.
Both teams started the second set even until the Bobcats held an 8-7 lead. The Ragin’ Cajuns rifled off four consecutive points to go up 11-8. Chanelle Gardner of ULL started the run with a kill. After that, Texas State committed consecutive errors followed by a kill from ULL setter Andrea Hole.
After a timeout from Texas State, the Bobcats went on a run of their own. Two UL Lafayette errors pulled the Bobcats within one, 11-10. Next, Mahoney made an impressive dig to set up Watkins for a kill to tie the second set. Another ULL error put the Bobcats up, 12-11, before the Ragin’ Cajuns could break the run with a kill of their own. However, it would be the last point UL Lafayette would score for quite a while.
The Bobcats pushed the lead all the way to 20-12 to gain complete control of the second set. Watkins and Kohl each hit two kills around some ULL errors to put the Bobcats up 19-12. The 20th TXST point came on Watkins’ third kill in the run.
The Ragin’ Cajuns fought back in the second set and pulled within three points, 23-20, and eventually two points, 24-22. Texas State, however, stayed the course and finished ULL off in the second frame to gain a 2-0 lead before the intermission.
Both teams played back and forth throughout much of the third set with both improving their hitting percentages. Both teams only committed four errors in the third set with UL Lafayette holding the edge in hitting percentage at .263 to Texas State’s .225. The Ragin’ Cajuns finished the set with one more kill than Texas State, 14-13, and it proved valuable in a hotly contested 25-23 set UL Lafayette was able to win to stay alive.
The Ragin’ Cajuns carried the momentum from the third set into the fourth set, taking control of the match with a 25-13 fourth-set victory. The Bobcats, however, started the fifth set with a 3-1 lead. Kohl hit two kills and the Bobcats scored on a ULL error to start the final set.
Kohl had the first three kills of the fifth set until Weynand put the Bobcats up 6-3 with a kill. After her, Kirch, Simms and Mahoney each struck kills to put the Bobcats up 9-5. After another Kohl kill to give Texas State a 10-5 lead, UL Lafayette needed a timeout. After the timeout, Kohl hit her fifth kill of the frame and Kirch added one more. The rest of the Bobcat points came on ULL errors to help Texas State clinch the match.
Bobcats Withstand Cajun Rally
LAFAYETTE, La. – The Ragin’ Cajuns came back from two sets down to force a fifth set, but Texas State turned it on in the final frame to escape Earl K. Long Gyn with a 3-2 (25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 13-25, 15-12) win on Friday night.
Both Sara Mossakowski and Andrea Hole turned in double-doubles, and the Cajuns (16-10, 5-9 SBC) hit .361 in the third and fourth sets to force the decider; but, Texas State (16-10, 11-3 SBC) hit .308 in the final frame to get out with the win and maintain a hold on third place in the Sun Belt Conference.
Louisiana held the edge in the majority of the night’s statistical categories, scoring more kills, blocks and digs for the match. But the Bobcats turned in just enough plays late in close sets one and two and never trailed in the final frame.
Mossakowski finished the night with 13 kills and 17 digs for the Cajuns, while Hole totaled 49 assists and 15 digs to go with seven kills in directing the offense to .216 hitting for the match.
Chanelle Gardner picked up a match-high five blocks and also scored 12 kills on 27 swings to hit .409 on the night. Kae Kae Lockhart turned in 10 kills and a pair of blocks, her highest kill total of the season.
In all, five Cajuns picked up at least 11 digs with Caitlyn Auxilien picking up 18, Stacey Reilly 12 and Katey Kyle 11 to join Mossakowski and Hole.
Texas State got a pair of double-doubles as well, with 39 assists and 17 digs from Caitlyn Mahoney, and 24 digs and 11 assists from libero Sierra Smith. Alexandra Simms and Jordan Kohl led the Bobcats with 11 kills apiece.
Despite outstanding hitting in the third and fourth sets, the Cajuns struggled to find the floor in the first two frames, hitting just .084 as the Bobcats jumped out to a 2-0 lead.
But things changed after the break, starting in the third set when UL gritted its way back into the match with a 25-23 win behind five kills from Lockhart and three from Mossakowski. The Cajuns found themselves tied up with the Bobcats late in the set at 22-22, but turned to Lockhart for consecutive scores to get to a set-point try. Two points later they extended the match, courtesy of a Texas State ball handling error.
The Cajuns were at their best in the fourth set, hitting .471 to just .053 for Texas State. Gardner was the hot hand, scoring five kills with a pair of blocks, while Mossakowski added four scores on 11 tries. The set was never really in question as UL jumped out to an early 6-1 lead and never looked back. The Cajuns built the lead to 18-13 on a kill from Lockhart and closed out the set on an 8-0 run with the final seven points coming behind Auxilien’s serve.
But the Bobcats came out strong in the final set, building a 10-5 lead before the Cajuns began to chip away. A 7-2 run capped by consecutive kills from Reilly drew Louisiana to within a point at 12-11, and the team’s traded the next two points before Texas State used a kill from Lauren Kirch and a Cajun misfire to finish off the match.
The Cajuns will turn around now and prepare for another home match on Sunday when they host Arkansas State. First serve is set for noon from Earl K. Long Gym.