Cajuns Reach 20th Win; Rallies to Defeat ULM in Five-Set Thriller

LAFAYETTE – Katey Kyle came off the bench and served a go-ahead ace in the decisive fifth set and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns volleyball team scored the final five points to rally past ULM in a five-set marathon, 23-25, 25-14, 21-25, 25-16, 15-12, in the Sun Belt Conference regular-season finale for both teams on Sunday at Earl K. Long Gym.

Chanelle Gardner and Stacey Reilly combined for 25 kills as Louisiana (20-12, 9-11 Sun Belt) posted its first 20-win season since a 32-12 mark in 1990. Andrea Hole, one of four seniors playing in their final home game for the Ragin’ Cajuns, posted a double-double with 43 assists and 18 digs while Caitlyn Auxilien added 15 digs in her final home appearance.

“It’s a great benchmark to get to 20 wins,” Louisiana head coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot said. “We talked about it last year after finishing with 19. It was an important win for us heading into the (Sun Belt Conference) tournament and it’s an important win for our program. And to do it on Senior Night … it’s just exciting.”

Both teams traded wins through the first sets before ULM (9-24, 3-17 Sun Belt) built an 8-5 lead in the final set on a kill by Hope Pawlik. Kills by Kyle, Abby Filce, Gardner and Hole gave the Ragin’ Cajuns a 9-8 lead before the Warhawks rallied.

A pair of kills by Hadley Swartz gave ULM a 12-10 lead, but a Taylor Zaeske attempt allowed Louisiana to break serve and cut the lead to 12-11.

Behind the serve of Kyle, who finished with 12 digs, the Ragin’ Cajuns tied the final set at 12-12 on an attack error by Swartz before her second ace of the match gave Louisiana the lead for good. ULM then followed with a second attack error before Reilly sealed the match for Louisiana with an unassisted kill.

“Katey has been doing a great job and she had a starting spot in the beginning for us,” Mazeitis-Fontenot said. “She had an injury and has been struggling the whole season to get back to her original form. I was so pleased to see what she was capable of bringing to help our team.”

Gardner led Louisiana, which hit .236 for the match and recorded nine service aces, with 14 kills. Reilly added 11 kills and 18 digs for the Ragin’ Cajuns while senior Kaylee Nemeth added nine kills and three blocks in her final home match.

Sara Mossakowski and Filce posted eight kills each for the Ragin’ Cajuns with senior Kelly Wiesmann adding three kills and an assist off the bench.

ULM was led by Pawlik, who posted a double-double with 17 kills and 13 digs. Zaeske added 13 kills for the Warhawks while Swartz posted 10. Bayleigh Hoffman led ULM with 46 assists while Marcela Araya posted a match-high 23 digs.

ULM Drops Heartbreaker to ULL as Araya Completes Career as Program’s Digs Leader

LAFAYETTE, La. – Three-straight points in a back-and-forth fifth set that involved five tie scores and five lead changes was the difference maker as the ULM volleyball team dropped a 3-2 (25-23, 14-25, 25-21, 25-16, 12-15) heartbreaker on the final match of the season Sunday afternoon from the Earl K. Long Gym in Lafayette, La.

ULM (9-24, 3-17 Sun Belt) finishes the season with its most overall (9) and conference (3) win totals since 2011 despite a roster that is one of the youngest in the Sun Belt, featuring nine underclassmen and only two seniors.

“I am so proud of this team,” head coach Patrick Hiltz said. “I wish the season could continue as we are playing really nice volleyball and competing hard every day. The best part is that we are only getting better. This group is doing great things here at ULM.”

Three players for ULM accounted double-digits kills as the team collected 54 kills on 49 assists, while scooping up 66 digs.

In her final match, Marcela Araya posted 23 digs to complete a phenomenal Warhawk career as the single season digs record holder with 655 digs. Araya ended each of the four seasons she played in as the team leader in digs and leaves ULM as the program record holder with 1,916 total digs.

Fellow senior, Alannah Cullum logged two kills on .667 hitting during her final match with the Warhawks.

“About the only thing that’s hard to accept right now is that Alannah and Marcela have played their last match in a ULM uniform,” Hiltz added. “It was clear the girls wanted to send them out with a win over our rivals but it wasn’t in the cards for us today.”

Hope Pawlik earned her sixth double-double of the season, pacing the Warhawks with 17 kills on .250 hitting. The sophomore outside hitter also added 13 digs and led the team with four blocks. Pawlik capped off a sensational campaign leading the team in kills (325) and kills per set (2.75).

Ending the year on a high note, Hadley Swartz recorded her third straight 10 kill game and fifth in the last six matches. Swartz accumulated 10 kills, eight digs and two service aces, going over 300 kills in a single season for the second time in her career.

In a back-and-forth highly intense battle between the in-state rivals, the Ragin’ Cajuns (20-12, 9-11 Sun Belt) and Warhawks combined for 31 tie scores and 15 lead changes.

Firing out of the gate allowed ULM to score a first set victory (25-23) before ULL retaliated with an equalizer in the second set (25-14).

The Warhawks answered with a third set triumph set up by four consecutive points with the score tied at 21-21. Taylor Zaeske secured the third stanza with an overwhelming kill on a perfect pass from Bayleigh Hoffman.

Nevertheless, the Ragin’ Cajuns were able to secure a spot in the Sun Belt tournament with their ninth conference win following victories in sets four and five.

Hoffman was all over the stat sheet, accumulating 46 assists, seven digs, two blocks and two kills. Hoffman completed her first ever intercollegiate season leading all freshman in the conference with 989 assists for an average of 8.38 assists per set. She also led the team with 37 service aces and second on the squad with 241 digs (2.04 digs/set).

For the eighth time this season, Zaeske registered double-digit kills as the sophomore tallied 13 kills and nine digs, falling just shy of her second career double-double.

Freshman Jennifer McClendon amassed seven kills and a career-high six blocks, while sophomore Kaitlyn Shearer garnered three kills and three blocks.

“I am happy with the effort that was shown today by these young women,” Hiltz said. “The future is outstandingly bright for Warhawk volleyball.