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Junior Lesley Mirarchi set a new rally era school record in attacking percentage as the University of Louisiana swept Southern University, 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-20) in Baton Rouge on Tuesday evening.
The sweep was the seventh shutout of the season for Louisiana (13-10, 3-4 Sun Belt), while Southern (9-13, 2-3 SWAC) dropped their second consecutive match. The Cajuns concluded non-conference action with a 10-6 record. The 10 non-conference victories were the most for a UL team since the Ragin' Cajuns collected 13 in 1997.
Mirarchi, a native of Plano, Texas, threw down a team-high 15 kills, while posting a new UL rally era record for attacking percentage in a single match. Mirarchi's hitting percentage of .750 broke the previous mark of .706 held by Caroline Dufrene, which was set against ULM on Oct. 8, 2007.
The middle blocker also posted a leading total of 6 blocks, while recording two assists.
Kerrilyn Lazare inked nine kills on the evening, attacking a season-best .615. The junior also finished with one block assist.
Freshman Taylor Meade had seven kills, while scooping the ball four times. Dufrene finished the match with five kills, three digs, two blocks and a service ace.
Setter Mandi Gavin managed 31 assists on Tuesday, while digging the ball six times and making three total blocks. In the digs column, Brooke Niland led Louisiana with eight.
The first set went back-and-forth in the first 12 points, but Louisiana completed an 8-0 run to take a commanding lead. Despite a late 8-to-1 run by the Jags, the Ragin' Cajuns closed out the set point, 25-19, with a kill by Gavin. Mirarchi led the team with five kills.
Louisiana led 15-6 midway through the match. The Ragin' Cajuns clinched their second point with a 25-12 victory. Meade slammed down three kills and Dufrene had two digs to lead UL.
Southern led 19-18 in the third set, but Louisiana closed on a 6-to-2 run to secure the match point, 25-20. UL earned 19 kills in the set, while posting a match-best .471 hitting percentage. Mirarchi totaled nine kills, while Gavin scooped the ball four times.
UL continues Sun Belt action, this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 22-23, on the road at Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee. Both matches are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
