Cajuns Capture Victory on Final Day in Chicago
CHICAGO – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball team secured its second winning record in a weekend tournament following a 3-1 (25-20, 12-25, 25-23, 25-16) win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday in the Chicago State Invitational.

After outlasting the Eagles (8-8) with the match lead on the line in the third set, the Ragin' Cajuns (6-7) dominated the fourth frame with a .406 hitting percentage to seal the victory.

The win gave Louisiana a final weekend mark of 2-1 in Chicago. The squad split a pair of matches on Friday, defeating host-Chicago State in four sets and falling to eventual tournament champion Wright State in three.

Stacey Reilly (Sr., OH, Houston, Texas) represented the Ragin' Cajuns on the all-tournament team. After leading the team with 22 kills combined in Friday's matches, she added 11 more on Saturday. Reilly's final tournament line included 33 kills on a .215 hitting percentage and 22 digs.

LEADING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Freshman Hali Wisnoskie (Fr., OH, Columbus, Texas) generated a match-high 16 kills. It was her second double-digit effort of the weekend (12 vs. Chicago State).

In addition to Reilly joining Wisnoskie in double digits, the Ragin' Cajuns received key contributions from Hanna Rovira (Jr., OH, Baton Rouge, La.) who tallied eight kills on just 12 attempts, setter Jessica Bartczyszyn (Sr., S, Cary, Ill.) who added seven kills and Dree'Ana Abram (So., MB, Marshall, Texas) and Nia Antoine (Jr., MB, Lafayette, La.) who each tallied six kills.

Libero Sydney Davis (Jr., LB, Baton Rouge, La.) scooped 20-plus digs for the second time in the tournament (27 vs. Chicago State), finishing with a match-high 24 digs.

Bartczyszyn added 10 digs to her assists tally of 40 for her first double-double since Sept. 1 vs. Houston Baptist.

UP NEXT
Louisiana begins Sun Belt Conference play Friday-Saturday, Sept. 22-23 on the Georgia road trip. The Ragin' Cajuns meet Georgia Southern in Statesboro on Friday at 5:30 p.m. (CDT), then travel to Atlanta to face Georgia State on Saturday at 5 p.m. (CDT).

HOW IT HAPPENED
- It was the team which took control early that claimed the first two sets. The Ragin' Cajuns started the opening frame with an Abram/Wisnoskie block and Davis ace for the first of four unanswered to open the set and never trailed. EMU used a 10-0 run that stretched its early lead in the second set to 14-3 and went on to even the match.

- The Ragin' Cajuns, who dug out of a 9-5 deficit in the third set, found themselves trailing 17-14 but wouldn't allow the Eagles to break free. A kill by Wisnoskie and ace from Lexi Hebert knotted the score at 18-all.

The teams swapped scores until back-to-back EMU kills opened a 22-20 edge. The Cajuns took advantage of a pair of errors to draw a tie again, then after a brief Eagles lead would score the final three points of the set getting kills from Wisnoskie and Abram to reclaim the match lead.

- The fourth set turned in the Ragin' Cajuns' favor after three straight kills – one apiece from Bartczyszyn, Abram and Rovira – opened an 8-4 lead and prompted an EMU timeout. After the Eagles broke serve, Louisiana won the next three rallies for an 11-5 edge.

EMU rallied and trimmed the deficit to 17-14, but the Ragin' Cajuns had another push in them. A kill from Wisnoskie, followed by back-to-back from Rovira, jumpstarted a 6-0 run that put the Eagles away.

QUICK HITS
- Louisiana and Eastern Michigan met for just the second time in program history. The lone prior meeting occurred in August 2010 in Huntsville, Texas in a Sam Houston State-hosted tournament.

- Hali Wisnsokie's .441 hitting percentage marked her second .400-plus clip of the Chi-State Invitational. The freshman outside hitter has hit above .400 in three of the last four matches.

- Sydney Davis' final digs tally for the tournament was 70. The Ragin' Cajuns libero averaged 6.36 digs per set. She extended her current streak of consecutive matches with double digits in digs to 10 (dates back to Sept. 1 vs. HBU).

- Stacey Reilly collected her first all-tournament honor of the season. It was the seventh and final all-tournament accolade of her career.

- Hanna Rovira enjoyed one of her best matches of the season. The eight kills equaled her season-best output recorded in the opener vs. Tulane, while her .500 hitting percentage was the highest of the campaign and best since nine kills on a .900 percentage vs. Southern in 2015.

- The Ragin' Cajuns finished the season with a winning record in two of the three tournaments they competed in: 3-1 in Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic (Sept. 1-2) and 2-1 in Chicago State Invitational (Sept. 15-16).

App State Splits Saturday Matches of Charleston Invitational
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Appalachian State University volleyball split its Saturday matches at the Charleston Invitational. The Mountaineers (5-9) dropped a five-set decision to Buffalo (25-23, 25-27, 25-23, 22-25, 7-15) at 10:30 a.m. before defeating Mercer 3-1 (24-26, 25-22, 25-20, 25-16) at 4:30 p.m.

BUFFALO MATCH
Freshman Lexi Kohut led the Mountaineer offense with 18 kills against the Buffalo Bulls. Junior Melissa McMath also tallied double-digit kills with 13.

Ashlyn Brown picked up her tenth double-double with a team-high 38 assists and 11 digs. Including Brown, five Mountaineers finished with double-digit digs: Olivia Loeffler (19), Sydney Farthing (14), Emma Reilly (12) and Sydney Hinds (10).

App State claimed the first set, 25-23, but fell in the second by a score of 27-25. The teams would trade set-wins in the third and fourth set leading to a match-deciding fifth set. The Bulls jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the final set and would claim the match, 15-7.

MERCER MATCH
The Mountaineers dropped the first set to the Bears, 26-24, before winning three-straight sets to claim a 3-1 victory.

Four student-athletes finished with double-digit kills. Kohut and McMath led App State again with 15 and 14 kills, respectively. Kara Spicer tallied 12 kills, while Grace Morrison collected a career-high 11 kills.

With a game-high 46 assists and 15 digs, Brown snagged her eleventh double-double. Reilly made a team-high 16 digs and Loeffler made 15.

UP NEXT
Appalachian will open up Sun Belt play next weekend with a pair of matches in Arkansas. The Mountaineers will play Little Rock on Friday, Sept. 22 before a matchup with Arkansas State on Saturday, Sept. 23. Both matches are set to begin at 7:30 p.m.

@AStateVB Sweeps Stephen F. Austin
HOUSTON, Texas (9/16/17) – The Arkansas State volleyball squad swept Stephen F. Austin 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-21) Saturday afternoon at the Rice adidas Invitational II to wrap up nonconference play at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, Texas.

Carlisa May and Drew Jones led the Red Wolves (7-6) with 12 kills apiece, while Peyton Uhlenhake added nine on a career-best .500 attacking percentage. Kenzie Fields handed out 36 assists and had nine digs, while Tatum Ticknor posted 15 digs to lead the team. Jessica Uke recorded eight kills and led the squad with four blocks. KK Payne led the Ladyjacks (12-3) with 10 kills.

“We played much better today and had a better collective effort both defensively and offensively,” A-State head volleyball coach David Rehr said. “The kids put it on themselves after last night’s loss and really got after it today on their own, more so than me and the coaching staff having to light the fire under them. So that was really great to see. They owned it and worked hard to improve and we did that today against a good Stephen F. Austin team. Now it’s time to get back and get ready for SBC play.”

A-State raced out to a 7-1 advantage in set one, but SFA battled back to within 17-14 later in the set. However, the Red Wolves used a 5-2 run to gain a 22-16 edge and wouldn’t look back as a kill by Uke clinched a 25-19 set one win. Arkansas State jumped out to a 13-10 lead in set two after an Uhlenhake kill that forced a timeout by the Ladyjacks. After the stoppage, A-State couldn’t pull away and only led 21-20 before ending the frame on a 4-1 run to win the second set 25-21.

Stephen F. Austin jumped in front 13-10 in set three and maintained the three-point edge at 16-13 before a 7-2 A-State run gave the Red Wolves a 20-18 lead. SFA pulled within one at 21-20, but two straight points, the last coming on an ace by Ryley Gill, put Arkansas State ahead 23-20. After a Ladyjacks’ timeout, a block by Fields and Uke put A-State out front 24-20 and a bad set by Stephen F. Austin two points later gave the Red Wolves a 25-21 set win and 3-0 sweep.

Jones and Uke were named to the All-Tournament team for the event. Jones led the team with 44 kills and added 24 digs along with seven blocks defensively as she earned her fifth career All-Tournament nod and second of the season. Uke hit .449 with 27 kills and added a team-best 11 blocks along with two aces to pick up her second career All-Tournament accolade.

Arkansas State returns to action with its Sun Belt Conference opener against Coastal Carolina Friday, Sept. 22. First serve from the Convocation Center in Jonesboro, Ark., is set for 6:30 p.m.

Trojans' Comeback Falls Short in 3-2 Loss to DePaul
ST. LOUIS – Looking to come back from a 2-1 deficit, Little Rock volleyball fell 3-2 (22-25, 25-21, 14-25, 25-23, 12-15) in five sets to DePaul on Saturday evening at Chaifetz Pavilion on the campus of Saint Louis University.

For the Trojans (4-8), Marina Avram recorded her second consecutive double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs. Mya Robinson recorded her first career double-double as she ended the match with 12 kills and 15 digs. Veronica Marin put up eight total blocks (three solo and five assisted) while putting down eight kills. Sydnee Martin led Little Rock with 21 digs and tallied six assists. Taylor Lindberg had 37 assists with eight digs, seven kills, three block assists and an ace.

For her performance over the weekend, Avram was named to the Billiken Invitational's All-Tournament Team. The senior put down 42 kills (3.50 per set), hit .298, served up five aces and recorded 33 digs (2.75 per set) in the Trojans' three matches.

Claire Anderson led the match with 24 kills for the Blue Demons (6-6) while Myah Reed put down 18 kills. Haley Bueser led the match 22 digs while Kelsey Horvath had 50 assists.

Little Rock played from behind for the vast majority of the first set. After a brief tie at 3-3, DePaul stayed out front for the rest of the frame. Down by five at 22-17, the Trojans narrowed the gap to two at 23-21 off a Blue Demon attack error. DePaul then put down a kill on two of the next three points to take the set. Little Rock put up five blocks for the set compared to DePaul's two.

Down 9-8 in the second set, Little Rock went on a 7-0 run to take a 15-9 lead over DePaul. At 17-10, the Blue Demons went on a 7-1 run to let the Trojans' lead to one at 18-17. Little Rock bumped its lead back up to five with an ace by Nedima Kamberovic at 23-18. Back-to-back points for DePaul cut the lead to three, but Little Rock went on to take the set as a Blue Demon serve went wide. Avram and Marin each put down three kills as the team hit .200 for the set. Martin had seven digs, and Marin had three solo blocks.

Attack errors mounted up for Little Rock as it tallied more in the third set than in the first two sets combined with 10. This allowed DePaul to lead for the entirety of the set and take an 11-point win.

Little Rock and DePaul stayed within three points of each other for the entire fourth set. The set included 10 ties and two lead changes. Down 22-20, the Trojans clawed back with four consecutive points to take set point at 24-22. After a kill by DePaul, Avram put the set away with a kill of her own.

The fifth set looked promising for the Trojans as they jumped out to a 6-0 lead. With Little Rock still ahead at 9-6, the momentum swung in DePaul's favor as the Blue Demons scored five consecutive points to take an 11-9 lead. Both sides traded points until Little Rock cut the deficit to one at 13-12, but back-to-back kills by DePaul won the set and match.

Daisha Gillard had four kills with four block assists, and Maritza Mesa had four kills with 13 digs and three block assists. Belissa Guidotti had three kills on three attempts with one block assist. Jovana Cernjanski had two digs while Nedima Kamberovic served up an ace with two digs.

Little Rock put up its most blocks in a match this season with 15 while DePaul put up 13.

With non-conference play over, Little Rock will begin Sun Belt Conference play in its home debut against Appalachian State on Friday at 6:30 p.m., at the Jack Stephens Center.

Coastal Pushes #24 North Carolina to Fifth Set, Falls Short
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Coastal Carolina volleyball team rallied from two match deficits to push 24th-ranked North Carolina to a fifth set, but ultimately came up short as UNC won the match 25-22, 21-25, 25-18, 18-25, 15-7 Saturday night at Carmichael Arena.

Saturday's match was the final nonconference test for the Chants this season. Coastal carries a 3-6 overall record into next weekend when it begins Sun Belt Conference play with matches at Arkansas State on Friday, and Little Rock on Saturday.

Leah Hardeman and Kyla Manning led the Chants in their effort to defeat their first ever ranked opponent. Hardeman posted a 13 kill, 24 dig double-double, leading all players in the latter category. Manning also had 13 kills, and added 10 digs for her first double-double.

Coastal's blockers were active throughout the night as the Chants totaled nine team blocks. Larissa Dos Santos led the way with five blocks, and chipped in offensively with eight kills and a .375 hitting percentage. Leah Levert and Aristea Tontai each had a trio of blocks, while Manning and Kaylah House added a pair apiece.

UNC's Taylor Leath led the match with 19 kills while hitting .341. Beth Nordhorn and Holly Carlton also had double-digit kills, and Katharine Esterly led all players with six blocks.

Coastal had an opportunity to take an early lead in the match, but UNC rallied towards the end of the first set. The Chants held a narrow 21-19 lead before UNC took the five points to force set point. Coastal got its final point of the set on a Tarheel service error, but UNC finished off the first with a kill by Beth Nordhorn.

The Chants found themselves trailing slightly midway through the second set, but a 7-2 run put Coastal in front 22-19. It would not be a repeat of the first set, as a Tontai kill and a pair of UNC errors allowed Coastal to even the match.

The UNC attack applied pressure early in the third set, allowing the Tarheels to jump out to a 12-5 lead, and did not let up for the remainder of the frame as UNC won the game by seven points. UNC hit .179 in the set and totaled three blocks and 19 digs to limit Coastal to hitting .075.

It was the exact opposite in the fourth set, with Coastal hitting .244 -- its highest percentage of the match. Defensively, the Chants totaled 17 digs and four blocks to limit UNC to hitting .121.

After being held to three kills the entire match, the Chants could not contain UNC's Taylor Fricano in the final set. Fricano had five kills on seven swings as she led a Tarheel team that hit .625 to finish off the match. Coastal held two leads early in the set, but five straight points from UNC built what proved to be an insurmountable lead.

JAGS FALL TO OLE MISS IN FOUR SETS
OXFORD, Miss. – The University of South Alabama volleyball team fell to Ole Miss in four sets (15-25, 25-22, 19-25, 24-26) Saturday at Gillom Sports Center.

USA (5-5) evened the match at one set apiece with a 25-22 set-two win, but Ole Miss (9-4) rallied for wins in back-to-back sets to clinch the match in four.

South Alabama will return to action next weekend when it opens Sun Belt Conference play against Texas State Fri., Sept. 22, at 6:30 p.m. in San Marcos, Texas.

GAME FACTS
- The Jaguars finished with 12 total team blocks for the second straight match.
- USA recorded .306 team hitting percentage in its second-set win.
- Ole Miss posted a .485 team hitting percentage in the opening set.
- The Rebels pushed their all-time lead in the series to 6-3 following Saturday's win.
- Saturday's match marked South Alabama's final non-conference match of the season.

NOTES
- Kelley Hartman tied a season high with 12 kills, posted a .323 hitting percentage and finished with seven total blocks (three solo and four block assists).
- Kristina Alabastro finished with 11 kills, two assists, one service ace, six digs and three block assists.
- Ashlyn Roberts tied a season high with 20 assists and nine digs, while Parker Harrell added 18 assists and seven digs.
- Abby Baker finished with a team-high 14 digs and two assists.
- Ole Miss' Emily Stroup recorded a game-high 20 kills along with a .432 hitting percentage.

QUOTES
Head Coach Amy Hendrichovsky
- On keys to the match:
"I thought both teams executed better today, especially offensively. They (Ole Miss) made some adjustments and forced us to make some adjustments. It was just a matter of who was able to make the adjustments down the stretch. It was high-level, competitive game."

- On playing Ole Miss after having the weekend tournament in Miami cancelled:
"I think this was perfect based on the circumstances. It was a perfect situation for us, and we got to work through some things. We grew a lot as a team from last week to this week from playing at Auburn to playing this weekend. We learned that what we were able to adjust and get better at helping, and we just need to continue to work on that this week heading into next weekend."

- On where she feels the team stands entering conference play:
"This is by far the strongest non-conference season I have had since I have been at South Alabama. I believe it was perfectly set, some due to unforeseen circumstances, and challenged us and made us better in the last four weeks. Now it's just a matter of us taking what we learned the last four weeks and improve on that heading into the conference season."

UP NEXT
South Alabama will return to action next weekend when it opens Sun Belt Conference play against Texas State Fri., Sept. 22, at 6:30 p.m. in San Marcos, Texas.

Canete, Gilbreath Spurs Sweep Of Lamar
ARLINGTON, Texas -- UTA got 14 kills from senior Qiana Canete and 25 assists from freshman Kailyn Gilbreath to post a three-set sweep (25-11, 25-13, 25-18) over Lamar in the first of a Saturday doubleheader as part of the Maverick Classic at the College Park Center.

UTA (6-6) cruised through three sets in the sweep, holding Lamar (1-8) to a .040 attacking percentage. UTA hit .337 during its win and used the strong outings from Canete and Gilbreath to highlight the offense.

"I'm really excited that we won one after we had been on a bit of a losing streak," Gilbreath said. "It was nice that we had to earn one. Lamar gave us a little bit of help but I felt like we earned it. I'm feeling much more comfortable learning how to run a 5-1 (formation) and being on the floor all the time. I feel very confident with my team and they are confident in me out on the floor."

LEADING THE MAVS
Canete had 14 kills and eight digs, adding three assists. Gilbreath finished with four kills on five swings, sporting 25 assists and six digs. Zhanelle Geathers added eight kills and a .350 attacking percentage. Kylie Jedlicka finished with five kills and five digs, with Madison McConnell sporting four kills and seven digs. Libbie Vickers had a team-leading 11 digs, with senior Ashlynn Ford owning eight digs and a kill, with four assists.

NEXT
The Mavs will conclude the Maverick Classic vs. Arizona State later on Saturday, hosting the Sun Devils at 6 p.m. CT at College Park Center. The game will be streamed live on UTAMavs.com, with the Voice of the Mavs, Josh Sours, calling the action.

SET ONE
After dropping the first point, UTA went on a 2-0 run and then a 5-0 run to build a 7-2 lead. After a 4-0 run, LU called timeout but the Mavs answered out of the break with a 3-0 and 4-0 run to take a 17-6 lead into the final LU timeout. The Mavs finished off the game win with a pair of 3-0 runs, scoring six of the final seven points in the set.

SET TWO
The Mavs dropped the first point but answered with three straight to take a 3-1 lead. UTA then used runs of 3-0 and 4-0 to build a 12-5 lead and force a LU timeout. Harfield gave UTA a 15-7 lead with a monster kill and UTA went on 19-9 after a gorgeous diving dig from Vickers. Canete's great dig lead to a 20-9 lead and a Lamar timeout. Gilbreath's nifty kill stretched UTA's lead to 21-11 and UTA used a mammoth kill from Canete for a 23-12 lead and a block from Allie Deese and Harfield for a 24-12 lead, finishing off the win at 25-13.

SET THREE
The Mavs opened on a 2-0 run and used runs of 2-0 and 3-0 to build a 7-2 lead following a block from McConnell and Gilbreath. A 9-0 UTA run saw aces from McConnell, blocks from Harfield and Canete and kills from Harfield, Canete and Geathers to build a 16-5 lead. After stretching the lead to 18-6 after Ford and Canete's kills, Lamar fought back to withstand a final charge from the Mavs, with UTA earning a 25-18 win with a 2-0 run to finish the set.

Alabama Defeats Troy Volleyball
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama- In the Trojan's final tournament match of the season, the Alabama Crimson Tide (11-2) defeated Troy (5-9) 3-0 in the Foster Auditorium on Saturday afternoon.

The Trojans stayed neck and neck with the Crimson Tide early in the first set until a five-point run gave Alabama the momentum. Troy fought back to get in the match, but the Crimson Tide offense was too powerful as Alabama took set one 25-15.

Troy got on the board first in the second set, but Alabama bounced back to take a 10-5 lead to force the Trojans to call a timeout. A kill from Lauren Long right out of the timeout minimized Alabama's lead, but it wasn't enough as the Crimson Tide marched to a 25-14 set two win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Trying to force a fourth set, the Trojans came out strong in the third set. Troy stayed just a couple points down the entire set, but their rally fell just short as Alabama took a narrow 25-22 win in set three to claim its 11th win of the season.

Sophomore Belle Waldrop led the squad with 10 kills and one solo block for a team-high 11 points. Freshman Cheyenne Hayes also had a solid outing adding seven kills and one assisted block on the day.

NOTEWORTHY
Long remains the team leader in kills with 133, averaging 2.61 kills/set.
The Trojans lead the Sun Belt with 85 service aces as Hayes has a team-high 22 aces this season, ranking second in the conference.
Kiara Barrett leads the team with 256 assists, followed by Reina Terry with 237.
Troy leads its opponents in kills (645), assists (599), aces (85) and digs (607).
Prior to this match, Logan Page's .393 hitting percentage ranked third in the Sun Belt, while Savannah Moore's .335 percentage earned her a eighth place ranking.

UP NEXT
Troy continues its extended road streak as the Trojans open conference play in Texas against UT Arlington and Texas State Sept. 22 and 23 at 6:30 and 12 p.m., respectively. Troy will then return home to host Georgia State and Georgia Southern Sept. 29 and 30 at the Trojan Arena. Both matches are slated for 6:30 p.m.

Texas State closes out Baylor Classic with loss to St. John’s
WACO, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team ended the Jason's Deli Baylor Classic with a 3-1 loss (17-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-15) to St. John's Saturday night inside Ferrell Center.

The Bobcats (8-6) succumbed to defeat for the third-straight time, while the Johnnies (8-6) claimed the first meeting in school history between the two programs.

Sophomore Amy Pflughaupt paced the maroon and gold with a match-high 18 kills, while classmate Megan Porter added 14 digs. True freshman Brooke Johnson tallied 23 assists and 11 digs, while senior Erin Hoppe dished out 19 assists. Sophomore Micah Dinwiddie led the back row with 18 digs.

Texas State won the opening game 25-17, giving the Bobcats first-set triumphs in all three matches in the tournament. The key stretch came when they were able to turn a 10-9 lead into a 16-11 advantage. STJ climbed back to within one at 16-15, but the maroon and gold snatched nine of the last 11 points.

St. John's flipped the script for the remainder of the match, winning each of the final three periods. In the second, the Red Storm was able to turn an 11-11 deadlock into a 20-14 advantage before chopping up the final 10 points for the 25-19 victory.

The third was tight throughout, featuring 12 ties and six lead changes. TXST was able to play into a 22-22 draw, but STJ secured three vital points down the stretch to take a 2-1 lead overall.

Texas State could never muster a comeback in the fourth, as St. John's closed out the match 25-15. The Johnnies led 3-0 and then 8-3. TXST got within five at 15-10 but would not be able to narrow the gap further.

Jordan McCalla led STJ with 15 kills, while Julia Cast added 14 and Hanna Wagner posted 11. Erica Di Maulo dished out 47 assists, and Delaney D'Amore (28) and Amanda Sanabia (11) both had double-figure digs.

St. John's had match highs in kills (56-54), hitting percentage (.239-.194), assists (52-51), digs (67-55), and blocks (12-9). Both teams finished with a trio of aces.

Texas State is now set to open Sun Belt Conference action at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 22 against South Alabama inside Strahan Coliseum.