The Book 2002-03 UL Lady Cajuns Volleyball
<blockquote>Louisiana's Lady Cajun Volleyballers left the friendly confines of Lafayette Louisiana, and took a 100 mile trip west to participate in a volleyball tournament at McNeese's <b>LA Memorial Gymnasium</b>.<hr width=300<p><i>Louisianato opens season with back-to-back wins for the first time since 1995</i>
LAKE CHARLES – Louisiana opened the 2002 volleyball season here Friday at the McNeese State Cowgirl Roundup Invitational with a pair of victories over Jackson State and Southern Mississippi.
The Cajuns (2-0) defeated JSU in game one behind the duo of sophomore Stacey Cole and senior Priscilla Lima, who together combined for 32 of Louisiana's 49 team kills in the 3-0 (30-21, 30-22, 30-9) win over the Tigers.
The win came in the first match for new Ragin' Cajuns head coach Becky Madden and kicked off the 2002-03 UL athletic season.
Cole had a team-best 18 kills while Lima chipped in with 14 kills of her own to pace the Cajuns offense. Senior and 2002 preseason All-Sun Belt pick Clarice Laires led the Cajuns defensively with a match-high nine digs while adding six kills.
Louisiana had three players with a hitting percentage over .400 and improved their hitting percentage as a team as each game of the match progressed. sophomore Stacy Liverett had a team-high .600 hitting perentage.
Lafayette native and junior Beth Henson, starting at setter for the first time since her freshman season, recorded 30 assists and four digs while adding three kills. Last season's starting setter Connie Byrnes, limited to action due to a minor shoulder injury, played one game and notched 14 assists.
For the match, Louisiana boasted a hitting percentage of .337 compared to JSU's .049. The Cajuns had 49 kills and 35 digs to the Tigers 21 kills and 27 digs. Madden was pleased with the team's overall play and the fact that she was able to work everyone into the match.
In the second match, Louisiana bounced back from a 2-0 deficit to claim a hard fought 3-2 (29-31, 20-30, 30-23, 30-25, 15-13) victory.
Cole led the Cajuns in kills for the second straight match, recording 16 to go along with 16 digs. Lima and freshman Lesley Tough each recorded 12 kills for the match and were helped offensively by Henson, who added 37 assists in the match to combine for 67 assists for the day.
Louisiana opens the season 2-0 for the first time since Sept. 1, 1995.
The Cajuns will conclude round robin play Saturday with matches against Prairie View at 1 p.m. and McNeese State at 5 p.m.
Louisiana 3, Southern Mississippi 2
<pre><font size="3">Louisiana 3, Southern Mississippi 2
1 2 3 4 5
Louisiana (2-0) 29 20 30 30 15
Southern Miss. (1-1) 31 30 23 25 13
Louisiana:
Kills 57 (Cole 16, Lima, Tough 12);
Digs 96 (Lima 23, Cole, Laires 16);
Assists 45 (Henson 37, Byrnes 6).
Southern Miss:
Kills 53 (Bush 19, Files 14, Tribble 12);
Digs 84 (Bush 19, Olsson 18, Tribble 17);
Assists 43 (Zane 40).
T: 2:10.</pre>
Lady Cajun volleyball heads to A&M tournament
ADVERTISER
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas - UL Lafayette's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team continues its long road to its first home match this weekend at the McDonald's Texas A&M Verizon Invitational here at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The Cajuns (4-3) will open tournament play against perennial power and Mountain West Conference member BYU (3-5) at 5 p.m. today. The Cougars began the 2002 season in the AVCA Division I Top 25 poll. They enter the match off a 3-0 (30-26, 31-29, 30-24) win over in-state rival Weber State.
Following today's match, UL will face the host Aggies at 1 p.m. and Sam Houston State at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Today's match will be the first-ever between the Cajuns and Cougars. Though they have no history on the court, they do have one thing in common. Both schools are led by coaches in their first season at the school.
Louisiana coach Becky Madden and her charges will be seeking to snap a skid that began last weekend at the Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational. The Cajuns are currently riding a three-match losing streak and have lost nine consecutive sets.
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One area of focus for the Cajuns this weekend will be errors. In their current losing streak, UL had better statistical numbers than its opponents but was plagued by attack and reception errors.
"There's no doubt in my mind that we will be facing some great competition," Madden said. "Texas A&M is ranked and BYU was at one time.
"We had a good week of preparation and spirits seem to be high. This team knows well what it is capable of, all we need is to go out and fight hard for each and every point and have the same intensity that made us so successful in the season-opening tournament (McNeese)."
Leading UL offensively is Stacey Cole, who has 97 total kills and 4.04 per game. In her last match against TCU, Cole notched her third double-double of the season and had a season-high .565 attack percentage. She also leads all Cajuns with 14 service aces.
Defensively, the Cajuns are paced by the duo of Clarice Laires and Priscilla Lima. The two combine for over six digs per game. Lima leads all Cajuns with 81 digs in 25 games, an average of 3.24 per game. Laires is not far behind, collecting 79 in 25 games for an average of 3.16 per game.
"This weekend presents us with the opportunity to continue to further develop our team chemistry and to see how we match up with high-caliber teams," Madden said. "In the long run, this tournament will help prepare us for the conference season."
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Lady Cajun volleyball loses close league match
Advertiser-Staff Reports
Posted on September 30, 2002
DENTON, Texas - Maybe the road is finally beginning to wear on the UL Lafayette Ragin' Cajun volleyball team. Or maybe five just isn't the Cajuns' lucky number.
For the second straight match, on the opening weekend of Sun Belt Conference volleyball action, UL Lafayette (6-9, 0-2 SBC) dropped a five-game decision Sunday. This time it was host North Texas escaping with a 3-2 (30-22, 30-19, 20-30, 28-30, 15-9) win.
The Cajuns fell behind 2-0 early in the match, bringing back déjˆ vu of UL Lafayette's last trip to the Snake Pit when they fell behind 2-0 only to win 3-2. However, this time the Cajuns couldn't finish the comeback as they dropped the final game of the match to the Mean Green (7-11, 2-0 SBC) 15-9.
The loss not only spoiled a valiant comeback effort by coach Becky Madden's charges, it also overshadowed a career-high 23-kill performance by sophomore outside hitter Stacey Cole.
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Senior middle blocker Priscilla Lima notched her 10th double-double of the season and second this weekend as she swatted 15 kills and pulled out 13 digs. Lima has a double-double in three straight matches and in eight of the Cajuns last nine matches.
UL drops its third straight match overall and fourth straight in SBC play dating back to last season. The Cajuns have lost nine of 11 matches since a 4-0 start and are 2-4 this season in matches decided in five games.
UL returns to the court Tuesday as they participate in the ING/UNO Louisiana Showcase at the New Orleans Arena, hosted by the University of New Orleans. The Ragin' Cajuns will battle Tulane in a 5 p.m. match. -->
Cajun volleyball rolls to second straight league win
<blockquote><p align=justify>Dan McDonald / Staff Writer
Posted on October 14, 2002
LAFAYETTE - Credit hard-earned experience, or credit the home court.
Or maybe, credit UL's volleyball team with finding the consistency that had been lacking in a season-opening 17-match road swing.
Whatever the reason, the Ragin' Cajuns apparently chose this weekend to post two of their best performances of the year, the most recent a dominating 30-19, 30-15, 30-18 win over Sun Belt Conference rival New Orleans Sunday at Earl K. Long Gym.
"We knew we were capable of playing like this," said coach Becky Madden. "We lost some close five-game matches on the road, and playing all those road games wears you down. These couple of wins shows what we're capable of."
The Cajuns certainly showed that, exploding from a 16-16 tie midway through the first game and scoring 19 of the match's next 22 points - a streak pretty much unheard of in rally scoring.
"We've played that well," Madden said of the Sunday win, "but only in spots. The last two matches, we've really cut down our errors and we've passed the ball well."
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The Cajuns held an opponent under 20 points in each game for the first time this year, and the 15 points allowed in the middle game was the fewest given up since an easy win over Prairie View A&M back on Aug. 31 in the McNeese Cowgirl Roundup.
UL, which took a similar 30-22, 30-18, 30-22 home-opening win over league foe South Alabama on Friday, improved to 8-11 overall and to 2-3 in Sun Belt play, moving into third place in the league's Western Division. UNO fell to 7-12 and 1-3.
Team kill leader Stacey Cole had a match-high 15 kills and hit for a .419 percentage, while freshman Lesley Tough and Clarice Laires had 14 and 12 putaways respectively. As a team, UL Lafayette out-killed UNO 57-35 and hit .354 compared to the .062 mark for the Privateers.
More impressively, the hosts continued a streak that now includes 24 wins in their last 26 matches at Long Gym dating back to 1999.
"In this gym, they feel so comfortable," said Madden, whose squad played all of its matches through the season's first five weeks away from home. "One of our goals is to win all our conference home games, and if we do that we'll be right in it."
Neither team led by more than a single point before Laires broke a 16-all tie with back-to-back kills in the opening game. That sparked an 11-1 run that included two aces by Tough and a Laires block that gave the Cajuns a 27-17 lead.
UL then jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second game, and Cole had seven of her kills in the middle game as the Cajuns scored the game's final nine points for the 2-0 lead. After the break, UL bolted to an 8-2 lead and Laires had six kills in the Cajuns' final 15 points.
"Our middle attack was opening up a lot of opportunities for us," said Madden, whose club hosts Florida International Sunday at 11 a.m. in another pivotal league matchup. "You've got to be really patient in rally scoring, but if you can continue to pressure and push there you can get on some streaks like we did today."
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Lady Cajuns Sweep SBC West Division Leader New Mexico State
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LAFAYETTE - Louisiana's Lady Cajun volleyball team made a strong statement to the rest of the Sun Belt Conference here Friday night at Earl K. Long Gym.
The statement: the Cajuns are going to be a factor in the league's stretch run and will be a team to contend with at the conference tournament.
UL (13-12, 7-4) registered its biggest conference victory to date this season with a sound 3-0 (30-20, 30-26, 30-25) sweep of SBC West Division leader New Mexico State (20-6, 10-2).
The win was the fourth straight for the Cajuns and seventh in their last eight since a 0-3 start to the SBC slate. Louisiana remains undefeated at home this season and has now won 26 of its last 28 matches at Long Gym since the 1999 season.
Three Cajuns posted double-figure kills with Priscilla Lima leading the way with 14. Clarice Laires had 13 kills along with 14 digs while freshman Lesley Tough had 11 kills and 11 digs, giving the Cajuns two players with double-doubles.
Laires picked up her third straight double-double and attacked above .400 for the third consecutive match and raised her team-best season attack percentage to. 259. Tough notched her fourth straight double-double and her fifth straight match with double-digit kills.
UL out-killed NMSU 55-35, out-dug the Aggies 54-46, had a 49-34 assists advantage and had a team hitting percentage of .248 compared to just .123 for NMSU. The Aggies had entered the match as the SBC's top hitting team, attacking at a .256 clip.
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The Cajuns ended a two-match losing streak and six-game losing streak to NMSU. The Aggies remain winless all-time at Long Gym (0-3).
The Cajuns broke open a close first game with a 7-1 run late to pull out in front 28-19. Following a NMSU kill from Morgan Reader, Louisiana-Lafayette responded with back-to-back kills by Lindsey Bermes and Lima to claim a 1-0 lead in the match.
Fourteen tie scores and eight lead changes were scattered amongst that first game. The lead went back-and-forth with neither team gaining any lead larger than one through the match's first 31 serves.
After falling behind 2-1 in game two, UL Lafayette reclaimed the lead at 3-2 and never lost it. The Cajuns used a 5-0 run after the match's 30th serve to take a 21-14 advantage. The two teams would trade the next 14 points as the Cajuns held a 28-21 lead before NMSU's last ditch effort to rally in the game.
The Aggies trimmed the comfortable Cajuns lead down to 29-26 off the serve of Amanda Olivas. Louisiana-Lafayette head coach Becky Madden called a timeout in an effort to disrupt the Aggies rhythm. It worked, as NMSU's Trinia Cuseo's attack error gave the Cajuns game two and a 2-0 lead.
Game three was a perfect example of how evenly matched the two teams were. In a near repeat of game one, neither team had a lead of more than three points until the last serve of the game. There were twelve ties and eight lead changes during the game.
The Cajuns rallied from a 15-12 deficit to forge a 20-20 tie. The momentum shifted from there. UL Lafayette used a 5-3 run to pull ahead 25-23 and force a NMSU timeout. The Cajuns ended the match outscoring the Aggies 5-2, capped off by a kill from Laires to end the match.
Louisiana-Lafayette will continue its current four-match homestand Sunday with a 1 p.m. match against Denver.
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Denver Demolished by Lady Cajuns Attack
<blockquote><p align=justify>LAFAYETTE - New day, new opponent. Same venue, same result.
Louisiana's Lady Cajun volleyball team remained undefeated at home this season and ran their season-long winning streak to five matches with a 3-0 (30-16, 30-18, 30-24) pounding of an overmatched Denver Pioneer squad here Sunday afternoon at Earl K. Long Gym in front of 270 fans on Parent's Day.
The Ragin' Cajuns (14-12, 8-4 Sun Belt) extended their streak of straight set sweeps at Long Gym this season to five matches and have now won 15 consecutive games within the friendly confines. It was UL Lafayette's 27th win in the last 29 matches at Long Gym since the 1999 season.
The Cajuns have now won eight of their last nine matches since a 0-3 start to the SBC slate.
More importantly, Louisiana moves ahead of Arkansas-Little Rock for the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Tournament to be held Nov. 21-23 in Miami. Depending on the outcome of the New Mexico State-North Texas match, the Cajuns could be only 1/2-game behind NT for the No. 3 seed.
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Louisiana was paced by yet another balanced attack in all facets of the match. The Cajuns had two players tally double-figure kills with freshman Lesley Tough racking up 15 and Stacey Cole tacking on 13. Tough reached double-figures in kills for the sixth straight match.
Defensively UL had three players with 10 or more digs led by 11 apiece from seniors Clarice Laires and Priscilla Lima.
The Cajuns out-killed the Pioneers (5-18, 3-9 Sun Belt) 52-26, out-dug them 54-34, had 10 service aces to none and had more assists 50-24. UL has out-killed, had more assists and out-dug the opposition in all five home matches this season.
UL hit .231 for the match, never dipping below .200 in any of three games. Denver struggled, attacking at a .035 clip which featured an abysmal -.114 in the first game. New Mexico State is the only team to attack above .100 this season at Long Gym. The Cajuns have attacked above .200 in each home match.
The Cajuns handled the Pioneers with ease in game one. After trailing 5-4 following an attack error by Lindsey Bermes, Louisiana-Lafayette stringed together two impressive runs to turn a close game into a rout.
The first run, an 8-1 spurt gave the Cajuns a 12-6 lead and forced a Denver timeout. That would be followed by a 10-4 run that pushed the UL Lafayette advantage to 22-10 and burned the Pioneers second timeout of the game. The Cajuns' largest lead was 15 points at 26-11.
In game two, the Cajuns never lost the lead. The Pioneers forged a 9-9 tie on a Tough attack error, but the Cajuns responded with a 9-3 run to pull ahead 18-12. Denver never threatened as UL Lafayette outscored them 12-6 the rest of the way to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
After the break, it was déjà vu all over again. The Cajuns never lost the lead and led by as many as nine points, 15-6, through the game's first 21 serves. The lead increased to 11 before Denver made a last minute rally to try and force a fourth game.
The Pioneers trimmed a solid 28-20 Cajuns lead down to four points on the serves of Sarah Adamis and Andrea Baron. Back-to-back Stacey Cole kills completed the sweep for the Cajuns.
Louisiana-Lafayette returns to action this Friday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. with a cross-divisional match with Middle Tennessee. The match marks the beginning of Senior Weekend for Laires and Lima. Senior Day is slated for Sunday at 2 p.m. against SBC West Division rival North Texas.
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Louisiana's Lady Cajun Volleyball team gets ready
<blockquote><p align=justify>LAFAYETTE – Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team has hit the home stretch of the 2002 regular season. They've also arrived at the most critical part of the season.
Fortunately for them, they will have the advantage of playing at home.
The Ragin' Cajuns (14-12, 8-4 Sun Belt) enter the final weekend of Sun Belt Conference action only one-half game behind North Texas for the third seed in the upcoming SBC Tournament being held Nov. 21-23 in Miami.
Those two teams will meet on Sunday, Nov. 17 in the Cajuns home finale, possibly with the third seed on the line.
But in order to be in that position, the Cajuns must take care of business Friday night against Middle Tennessee (16-13, 7-6 Sun Belt) at 7 p.m. in Earl K. Long Gym. NT faces Western Kentucky at home in Denton, Texas on Friday.
The good news for UL is that WKU has yet to lose a match in SBC play this season and NT has lost its last three matches. Equally as important, the Cajuns have yet to lose at home this season in both games (15) and matches (5).
Either way you look at it, Friday's match with MT is a must-win for Louisiana if they hope to capture the third seed and avoid Western Kentucky until the SBC Tournament championship match.
If previous performance is any indication, UL is in great shape heading into this weekend's action.
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The Cajuns have reeled off five straight set sweeps in Long Gym this season and have won 27 of 29 matches in the friendly confines since the 1999 season.
UL Lafayette has dominated the opposition in every statistical category. The Cajuns have outscored opponents 450-301, out-killed them 266-156 and out-dug them 256-200. Louisiana-Lafayette's attack percentage at Long Gym is .277 compared to .070 for the opposition and the Cajuns have 46 service aces to opponent's 11.
Overall the Cajuns have been probably the hottest team in the SBC as of late. UL Lafayette has won eight of its last nine matches since a 0-3 start to the Sun Belt slate. UL Lafayette has posted a 25-6 record in games during the streak, which included a 3-1 record on a four-match road trip.
Individually, senior Clarice Laires has been the hottest player on the team as of late. Laires has attacked above .300 in her last four matches and five of the last six. She was named the SBC's Defensive Player of the Week following last weekend's 25-dig performance in the sweep of New Mexico State and Denver.
Laires has tallied double-figure kills in five of the last six matches and had three straight double-doubles until last Sunday's match with Denver. She has performed well at Long Gym this season averaging 3.67 kills per game, 3.00 digs per game and posting a team-best .372 attack percentage.
Sophomore Stacey Cole continues to lead the Cajuns in kills per game. Cole is averaging 4.07 kills per game which ranks second in the Sun Belt only to NT's Corina Marginas. At home, Cole is averaging 3.67 kills per game.
Senior Priscilla Lima leads all Cajuns with 4.00 kills per game in matches at Long Gym.
Friday's match will be the season finale for Middle Tennessee. The Lady Raiders have secured no worse than the No. 6 seed at the conference tournament. They enter Friday's contest on a two-match losing streak.
MT is led by 2001 SBC Freshman of the Year KeKe Deckard who leads the team with 3.59 kills per game and 3.34 digs per game. The Lady Raiders are 6-5 overall on the road this season and 3-3 in SBC road matches.
The all-time series is tied 1-1 with the home team winning both matches. MT won 3-1 (30-27, 30-18, 20-30, 30-19) last season in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Following Friday's match, the Cajuns will host North Texas on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 2 p.m. It will be Senior Day for Laires and Lima.
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Coach Madden gets the Lady Cajun Volleyball team ready for tonight.
<blockquote><p align=justify>Tonight at 7pm Middle Tennessee will come into Earl K. Long Gym where the Lady Cajun Volley ball team do not have a propensity of losing.. In fact they have not done so all year.
Coach Madden has done a masterful coaching job this year, having accepted the position just one month prior to the start of voleyball season.
Below are a few pictures of the Lady Cajuns getting ready for Middle Tennessee.
Re: Coach Madden gets the Lady Cajun Volleyball team ready for tonight.
Quote:
Originally posted by Staff
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Coach Madden has done a masterful coaching job this year, having accepted the position just one month prior to the start of voleyball season.
I agree, these ladies have done a great job and have done the university proud. Coach Madden has done a tremendous job.
Cajuns Take Heart-Stopping Thriller From MT
<blockquote><p align=justify>LAFAYETTE - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team continued its home assault on the Sun Belt Conference here Friday at Earl K. Long Gym in a 3-0 (30-12, 32-30, 30-28) sweep of the Middle Tennessee Lady Raiders here at E.K. Long Gym.
The win was the sixth in straight sets this season at home for the Cajuns (15-12, 9-4 Sun Belt) over SBC foes and UL remained undefeated at Long Gym this season. It was the Cajuns sixth straight win overall and ninth in the last 10 matches since a 0-3 start in SBC play.
Senior middle blocker Clarice Laires paced the Cajuns offense with 14 kills and a .500 attack percentage (three errors, 22 attacks). Fellow senior Priscilla Lima led the Cajuns defensive charge with a team-best 12 digs.
KeKe Deckard led the MT offensive unit with nine kills and posted a team-high eight digs. The Lady Raiders attacked at a .239 clip, becoming the first team to post a higher hitting percentage than the Cajuns at Long Gym this season (UL Lafayette hit .231).
In what was a tightly contested match after game one statistics-wise, UL Lafayette took advantage of 10 services aces with six from sophomore outside hitter Stacey Cole in pivotal points of both games two and three to squeak by the Lady Raiders (16-14, 7-7). MT was their own worst enemy, committing 12 service errors, including some at critical serves in game three.
Louisiana raced out the gates in game one. The Ragin' Cajuns broke open a close 9-7 game with six straight points off the serve of Cole, which included two aces, giving UL Lafayette a 15-7 lead. Runs of 7-3 and 8-2 followed, which helped the Cajuns dispose of the Lady Raiders and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
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In game two, MT seemed in control through the first 36 serves. Three straight attack errors by UL Lafayette to start the match gave the Lady Raiders an early 3-0 lead. MT would build the lead to 22-14 before the Cajuns made their rally.
UL Lafayette received five straight points from Cole's serve to trim the MT lead to 22-19. The Lady Raiders increased the lead back to six, 26-20, only to watch the Cajuns rally once more. A 6-1 run, keyed by four MT errors, forced a Lady Raiders timeout.
Louisiana-Lafayette claimed its first lead of the game at 28-27 after back-to-back MT attack errors. The Lady Raiders reclaimed the lead on a Katie Thiesen kill and Beth Henson attack error.
A Cole kill on the games 60th serve knotted things up at 30-30. From there the Cajuns used the serve of Henson to push the lead to 2-0 and take game two 32-30.
Game three featured 12 ties and seven lead changes. It also featured the serve of Cole rallying the Cajuns one more time. With the Cajuns down 28-26, Cole stepped up and served the next four points. A Laires kill and Cole service ace tied things up at 28-28 and burned an MT timeout. After the timeout, Louisiana-Lafayette ended the game on a Lima kill.
The Ragin' Cajuns will conclude the 2002 regular season on Sunday at 2 p.m. with a match against Sun Belt West Division rival North Texas for the third seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Middle Tennessee concluded their regular season and will await word of their seeding for the tournament.
MATCH SUMMARY
Middle Tennessee at Louisiana-Lafayette
Site: Lafayette, La. (Earl K. Long Gym) Date: Friday, Nov. 15, 2002
UL Lafayette 3, Middle Tennessee 0
1 2 3
Middle Tennessee (16-14, 7-7 SBC) 12 30 28
UL Lafayette (15-12, 9-4 SBC) 30 32 30
MT: Kills 38 (Deckard 9, Thiesen 8, Baker 6); Digs 31 (Deckard 8, Moeller 8, Hillstorm 4); Assists 38 (Quinn 33)
UL Lafayette: Kills 47 (Laires 14, Cole 10, Lima 9); Digs 33 (Lima 12, Laires 7, Tough 7); Assists 40 (Henson 34)
A: 242 T: 1:19
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Cajun volleyball rolls to win over Middle Tennessee
<blockquote><p align=justify>Advertiser-Staff Reports
LAFAYETTE - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team continued its home assault on the Sun Belt Conference here Friday at Earl K. Long Gym in a 3-0 (30-12, 32-30, 30-28) sweep of the Middle Tennessee Lady Raiders here at E.K. Long Gym
The win was the sixth in straight sets this season at home for the Cajuns (15-12, 9-4 Sun Belt) over SBC foes and UL remained undefeated at Long Gym this season. It was the Cajuns sixth straight win overall and ninth in the last 10 matches since a 0-3 start in SBC play.
Senior middle blocker Clarice Laires paced the Cajuns offense with 14 kills and a .500 attack percentage (three errors, 22 attacks). Fellow senior Priscilla Lima led the Cajuns defensive charge with a team-best 12 digs.
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KeKe Deckard led the MT offensive unit with nine kills and posted a team-high eight digs. The Lady Raiders attacked at a .239 clip, becoming the first team to post a higher hitting percentage than the Cajuns at Long Gym this season (UL Lafayette hit .231).
In what was a tightly contested match after game one statistics-wise, UL Lafayette took advantage of 10 services aces with six from sophomore outside hitter Stacey Cole in pivotal points of both games two and three to squeak by the Lady Raiders (16-14, 7-7). MT was their own worst enemy, committing 12 service errors, including some at critical serves in game three.
UL Lafayette raced out the gates in game one. The Ragin' Cajuns broke open a close 9-7 game with six straight points off the serve of Cole, which included two aces, giving UL Lafayette a 15-7 lead. Runs of 7-3 and 8-2 followed, which helped the Cajuns dispose of the Lady Raiders and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
In game two, MT seemed in control through the first 36 serves. Three straight attack errors by UL Lafayette to start the match gave the Lady Raiders an early 3-0 lead. MT would build the lead to 22-14 before the Cajuns made their rally.
UL Lafayette received five straight points from Cole's serve to trim the MT lead to 22-19. The Lady Raiders increased the lead back to six, 26-20, only to watch the Cajuns rally once more. A 6-1 run, keyed by four MT errors, forced a Lady Raiders timeout.
UL Lafayette claimed its first lead of the game at 28-27 after back-to-back MT attack errors. The Lady Raiders reclaimed the lead on a Katie Thiesen kill and Beth Henson attack error.
A Cole kill on the games 60th serve knotted things up at 30-30. From there the Cajuns used the serve of Henson to push the lead to 2-0 and take game two 32-30.
Game three featured 12 ties and seven lead changes. It also featured the serve of Cole rallying the Cajuns one more time. With the Cajuns down 28-26, Cole stepped up and served the next four points. A Laires kill and Cole service ace tied things up at 28-28 and burned an MT timeout. After the timeout, UL Lafayette ended the game on a Lima kill.
The Ragin' Cajuns will conclude the 2002 regular season on Sunday at 2 p.m. with a match against Sun Belt West Division rival North Texas for the third seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Middle Tennessee concluded their regular season and will await word of their seeding for the tournament.
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UALR Brings Lady Cajuns Season To An End
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MIAMI - For the first time in four years, UL's Lady Cajuns volleyball team failed to advance to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
The Lady Cajuns (15-14) were issued an abrupt exit from the 2002 SBC Tournament here Thursday afternoon at Golden Panther Arena as fourth seed Arkanas-Little Rock handed fifth seed Louisiana-Lafayette a 3-1 (30-26, 20-30, 28-30, 22-30) loss in both squads tournament-opening match.
UL had advanced to the tournament semifinals the past three seasons and defeated UALR 3-1 last season to reach the semis. The Trojans (14-12) returned the favor Thursday. Ironically, in 1998, the last time the Lady Cajuns failed to reach the semifinals, it was UALR who eliminated the Cajuns 3-0.
Louisiana's season comes to a close and so does the career of seniors and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, natives Clarice Laires and Priscilla Lima.
<center><p><a href="http://www.ragincajuns.com/Volleyball/Stories/vb112102ualrrecap.htm">The rest of the story</a><!--
UALR advances to the semifinals on Friday and will face top seed Western Kentucky at 4 p.m. (CST).
The Cajuns were plagued with 37 attack errors, 13 service errors, 10 reception errors, three ball-handling errors and attacked .074 for the match. Sophomore outside hitter Stacey Cole led all Cajuns with 16 kills. Lima collected a team-best 17 digs.
2002 SBC Freshman of the Year Ivana Kuzmic keyed the Trojans attack with a tournament record 15 blocks. Kuzmic matched her output from the previous meeting this season between the two schools. UALR had 17 total blocks to only four for UL Lafayette.
Ivana Vracar led all Trojans with 16 kills and Kuzmic added 12 kills to her block tally. Bojana Vulin led the UALR defensive charge with 15 digs. The Trojans had three players in double-digit digs.
The Cajuns jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a 30-26 win in game one. UALR went on to win the match by taking the final three games.
With the loss, the Cajuns end the season on a two-match losing streak, but did finish out the season with wins in nine of the last 12 matches for their third straight winning season. The winning season was the first of head coach Becky Madden's collegiate coaching career.
CAJUN DIGS: Senior Clarice Laires ended her senior season with 275 kills to up her career tally to 1,277, good enough for third all-time in school history…Laires ended her career with 306 block assists, second on the career charts…Fellow senior Priscilla Lima ended her career with 1,187 digs which places her fourth in school history and her 1,228 career kills are the fifth-most ever…Of the Cajuns 15 wins this season, 10 of them came in straight sets…UL Lafayette is now 4-8 all-time in SBC Tournament matches and 17-28 in games played…The Cajuns finished the season with a 58-50 record in games played and outscored the opposition 2,815-2,662…Laires is a candidate for the 2002 Verizon Academic All-America Team which will be announced Dec. 5.
MATCH SUMMARY
2002 Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Tournament
Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Arkansas-Little Rock
Site: Miami, Fla. (Golden Panther Arena) Date: Thursday, Nov. 21, 2002
Arkansas-Little Rock 3, Louisiana-Lafayette 1
1 2 3 4
UL Lafayette (15-14) 30 20 28 22
Ark.-Little Rock (14-12) 26 30 30 30
UL Lafayette: Kills 49 (Cole 16, Tough 12, Laires 9); Digs 50 (Lima 17, Henson 8, Bermes, Cole 7); Assists 44 (Henson 39)
UALR: Kills 51 (Vracar 16, Kuzmic 12, Plants, Vulin 7); Digs 63 (Vulin 15, Eisler 14, Hurga 11); Assists 45 (Vulin 15, Eisler 14)
A: 100 T: 1:45
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Becky Madden's Volleyball Camp
<blockquote><p align=justify>University of Louisiana volleyball coach Becky Madden and her assistant Amy Kraljev will be hosting the program’s annual summer camps this year in the month of June and August.
Dates for the camps are as follows:
<li>June 9-12 - 8 a.m. - Noon
Individual All-Skills Camp (Grades 9-12)
<li>June 9-12 - 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Individual All-Skills Camp (Grades 4-8)
<li>August 2-3 -
Team Camp (varsity, JV, frosh, middle school)
In addition to Louisiana's coaching staff, the camp staffs will include current and former Ragin' Cajuns players.
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For more information or to receive a camp brochure, please contact the Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball office at 337-482-6327 or email head coach Becky Madden at bsm7985@louisiana.edu.<center><p><a href="http://www.ragincajuns.com/Volleyball/Volleyball%20Team%20Camp.pdf">Download printable application</a>
Louisiana Volleyball Summer Camps
<blockquote><p align=justify>RAGIN' CAJUNS VOLLEYBALL SUMMER CAMPS
Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball program will be offering its annual summer camps in June and August.
Head coach Becky Madden and assistant coach Amy Kraljev along with former players will welcome participants for an All-Skills Camp June 9-12 at Earl K. Long Gym located on West St. Mary Blvd. on the UL campus.
Grades 9-12 will attend the morning session which takes place from 8 a.m. - Noon. Grades 4-8 are welcome to attend the afternoon session from 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Campers will work on all phases of volleyball. This camp will incorporate individual skills, basic offense transition, defensive transition, wash drills and team drills to facilitate the steady improvement in the overall skill level.
Camp registration is $90 per camper. Fifty percent of the registration fee is due when the registration form is returned.
The Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team will also be offering a Team Camp to be held the weekend of August 2-3.
The camp is open to all varsity, JV, freshman and middle school teams for a couple of great days of competition. The Ragin' Cajuns Team Camp will have a tournament-style format designed to give your team the maximum amount of playing time possible prior to the start of the 2003 season.
The cost is $350 per team (minimum 7 players) and an additional charge of $25 per player will be charged for teams over 10 players. Each team will be responsible for providing its own balls and a coach or designated coach must accompany each team.
Enrollment is limited so that instructors can pay close attention to the needs of each person. Campers are divided by age/ability to facilitate a positive and challenging experience.
<b>LOUISIANA SI
