The Book 2008-09 UL Lady Cajuns Volleyball

[CajunFun]

New article up.

[NewsCopy]

  The 2008 Lady Cajuns volleyball season is set to kick off this weekend as the team travels to Houston, Texas, to take part in the Rice Tournament. The Cajuns will face Rice, Michigan, and Texas-San Antonio over the course of the two-day event.

New head coach Heather Mazeitis will lead the team for the first time in regular season action on Friday in the opening match against Michigan at 12:30 p.m. Michigan is coming off a fifth-place finish in the powerful Big Ten in 2007, but was ranked 19th in the country according to the AVCA, thanks to a 24-11 record.

The Cajuns will play again Friday night, at 5:30 p.m. against host Rice, who returns five of six starters from last year's 13-17 squad.

The weekend wraps up against Texas-San Antonio at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The Roadrunners were 13-21 in 2007, including a 5-11 mark in the Southland Conference.

2008 Season Preview:

The Defense

Mazeitis inherits a team with plenty of experience, provided by nine returning letter winners, including four starters. From last year’s team, the Cajuns lose two seniors, both from the defense: libero Erika Castro and setter and defensive specialist Tara Cote.

Castro led the team in digs in 2007, averaging 4.56 per game and totaling 497 on the year, the best season in school history in the category. Her defensive prowess earned her second place on the all-time career digs list while Cote was fifth on the team in digs with 126 at a clip of 1.58 per game.

Castro returns to this year’s squad for her first season as a student assistant coach. In that capacity, she’ll be able to help several players step in to fill the defensive openings, including her own vacated libero spot.

As a team, the Cajuns played solid defense last year, but have room to improve. On the season, they trailed their opponents in digs by almost 300, equating to a 2.5 dig per game deficit. The team also fell short of their opponents in blocks, but held the advantage in service reception, posting a .911 reception percentage as compared to a figure of .908 for the opponents.

Individually, sophomore Lindsay Brown (Yorba Linda, Calif.) joined Castro as a leader of the defense in 2007, and now figures to step into the libero position for the 2008 campaign. Her qualifications include leading the team in receptions last season, posting an outstanding .966 percentage thanks to just 54 errors in 481 attempts. She also took second place on the digs chart with 317, with no ball handling errors on defense.

Brown’s confident ball handling will be complimented this year by her consistency and versatility. She played in 119 of 120 games last year, which earned her the team lead, and showed her broad range of skill by logging 106 kills for good measure.

At the net, the defense also returns senior middle blocker Tracie Knowlton (Forest Grove, Ore.), who posted 105 blocks (16 solo, 89 assists) to lead the team in 2007, an average of one block per game. Knowlton will again bring a sharp court sense to the team, having committed just six block errors and one ball-handling error last season.

Sophomore middle blocker Caroline Dufrene (Lake Charles, La.), joins Brown at the net. Dufrene tallied 87 blocks and this year that figure should increase with Brown’s move to libero. Dufrene also chipped in 204 kills, almost two per game, making her a multi-faceted threat on the court. Adding to her potency are her low error numbers. She committed just one block error and only three general ball handling errors in the 2007 season.

Senior Elizabeth Inman (Fort Worth, Texas) makes the transition this year from the dual role of middle blocker and outside hitter to being strictly a middle blocker. Her offense will still be counted on, though, as she led the team in kills last year with 343. On defense, she posted 48 blocks, good for fourth on the team, including 12 block solos and 36 block assists, with no block errors.

Also to be counted on in the Cajuns’ defensive scheme will be sophomore Amie Goodwin (Tucson, Ariz.), who is perhaps the team’s most versatile player. Her defensive statistics speak for themselves: third on the team in digs (242), and third in receptions (61 errors, 318 attempts, .808). But her broad range of skills shows in her statistics from her rookie year: second in kills (340, 3.21/game), first in points (406.0), and first in service aces (53).

Also returning on defense are senior outside hitter Carly Payan (Walnut, Ill.) and sophomore defensive specialist Kim Lehmann (Broussard, La.). Payan notched five blocks, 74 digs, and a .747 reception percentage in 2007, while Lehmann contributed 97 digs and a reception percentage of .833.

Joining the defensive rotation this year is a full compliment of talent from the newcomers, including Amanda Cune (College Station, Texas), Meghan Harrison (Pewaukee, Wis.), Kerrilyn Lazare (Baton Rouge, La.), Lesley Mirarchi (Plano, Texas), and Danielle Newman (New Orleans, La.). Cune, Harrison, and Mirarchi all join the team as freshman, while Lazare is a sophomore who took a year off of volleyball, and Newman is a junior transfer. On the resume of the group are countless appearances in district and state playoffs, numerous MVP awards, and many all-conference, all-district, and all-state nominations.

Altogether, the defense has several challenges ahead of it in the 2008 season. Service reception numbers have room to improve, as the team committed 252 reception errors last year. The Cajuns also trailed their opponents by a total of 41 blocks, a deficit which is well within the capability of the talented defensive corps to make up. Alternatively, the Ragin’ Cajuns committed just 24 block errors to the opponents’ 52. Lastly, the defense must work to cover more of the floor. In 2007, the Cajuns’ opponents managed 2,023 digs against UL’s 1,727.

The Offense

In 2008, the Cajun offense will look to improve in several categories. Last season, they trailed their opponents in kills by 401, despite 29 more total attacks. Those numbers combined for a .122 attack percentage, a statistic which must improve this season.

More successful attacks would also drive up the setting numbers, where UL again trailed their opponents by nearly 400, though they had 200 less attempts. The Cajuns held their own while serving, however. They tallied 219 service aces to their opponents 254.

Individually, the offense has a lot of talent coming back this year that will benefit from an additional year of experience. Leading the charge is last season’s kill leader, senior middle blocker Elizabeth Inman. She tallied 343 kills, averaging 3.18 per game. She was ranked second in points with 391.0, behind only Goodwin. With her official roster position changing from OH/MB to just MB, Inman may spread some of the offense around this year, but will still provide leadership with her veteran status.

Last year’s freshman phenom Amie Goodwin seems to be everywhere on the court. On offense, she led the team in points, with 406 (3.83/game), while placing second on the team in kills at 340, just three behind Inman.

Goodwin’s skill set extended to include setting, where she assisted 13 times, and to serving, where she posted a team-leading 53 service aces.

The Cajuns’ featured setter this season will be junior Kendra Hall (Dallas, Texas), who led the team last year as the only full-time setter with 1,094 assists, nearly 10 per game, giving her an impressive .704 setting percentage. She moved into fourth on the school’s career assists list with 1,913 after just two seasons, and also established a career high for herself with an incredible 66 assists against High Point on Sept. 8, 2007.

She’s no slouch around the other corners of the court, however. She tallied 30 service aces (third on team), 63 kills and 34 blocks. She also had five double-digit dig performances, including two 12-dig matches. Her contributions this year will be invaluable to the smooth operation of an effective offense.

Also returning to the offense is junior outside hitter Rachel Mauti (Mandeville, La.). In limited playing time last year, encompassing only 15 games due to a season-ending knee injury, she posted an average of 1.33 points per game, with 16 kills for the season. She also had two assists and three blocks. With good health, Mauti should be an integral part of the lineup.

Rounding out the returning offense are double-duty players Dufrene, Knowlton and Brown. Dufrene had 252 points in 2007 on a team third-best 204 kills, while Knowlton posted 114 kills for a total of 174.5 points with just 52 errors, to lead the team in hitting percentage at .218. Brown nailed 106 kills, but really impressed from the serving line. Her 35 aces were good enough to move her into second on the season leaderboard in the category, with the team’s second-best serving percentage of .927, behind only Hall.

Newcomers to the offense add to the excitement of the 2008 campaign. Along with the defensive rookies, the offense boasts a seasoned troupe of candidates for quality playing time.

The most interesting story among the newcomers comes from former Cajun women’s basketball standout senior Sonora Edwards (Snook, Texas). She was a 1,000-point scorer for the hoopsters, only the 13th player in school history to reach the mark. She also concluded her career with 20 double-doubles, and was instrumental in the Cajuns’ run to the first ever NCAA playoff appearance with an at-large berth, reaching as far as the regionals. Her last organized volleyball experience was as a player at Somerville High School. There, she was a four-year letterwinner in both basketball and volleyball. She led the volleyball team to four district championships, three area championships, and a regional final appearance. She was also named the District 25-2A Hitter of the Year and MVP, All-Brazos Valley “Sure Spiker”, and received first and second team all-state selections during her career. Her addition to the offense will be invaluable as she brings a wealth of enthusiasm for the sport after a four-year hiatus.

Kerrilyn Lazare (Baton Rouge, La.) joins the team after taking a year away from volleyball. A sophomore in class year, she brings to the team her three letters in volleyball from high school, where she was nominated for the Wendy’s Heisman Award for scholar-athletes.

The other newcomers are equally qualified. Among both the offense and defense, they tally some incredible stats from their high school careers. Altogether, the eight freshman bring three team MVPs, three district MVPs, two city MVPs, one state MVP; two all-county, eight all-conference, twelve all-district, two all-region, and three all-state selections; 10 disrict championships and one state championship; 20 state playoff appearances, and 26 varsity letters.

Specifically within the offense, there are several players poised to make immediate impacts. Schae Black (Prairieville, La.), an outside hitter, was a four-year letterwinner in volleyball, winning district and metro MVP awards in 2007 with nominations to the all-state team in 2007 and the all-district team in 2004, 2005, and 2006. Outside hitter Katie Kennedy (Lake Charles, La.) was also a four-year letterwinner, earning a spot on the 2007 all-state team to go along with her district MVP awards from 2006 and 2007.

Also a four-letterwinner, Kasey Laird (Matairie, La.) was a member of the 2007 Division II state champion volleyball team. She was named to the All-Louisiana team in 2007, while earning all-district honors in each year of high school, with Division II MVP designation in 2007. She also earned the title of team MVP in 2006 and 2007, and in 2005 she was named team offensive MVP. Outside hitter Katie Lonergan (Antioch, Ill.) rounds out the new class with four volleyball letters. She was team captain in 2006 and 2007, and team MVP in 2007. She earned places on the all-county and all-area team in 2006 and 2007, as well all-conference spots in 2005, 2006, and 2007

RaginCajuns.com

[NewsCopy]

 The Heather Mazeitis era officially starts today for UL's volleyball team in Houston at the Rice Tournament.

Mazeitis and her Ragin' Cajuns will play three matches over the next two days, starting with a 12:30 p.m. matchup against Michigan and 5:30 p.m. meeting against Rice. The Cajuns end the trip at 4 p.m. Saturday against Texas-San Antonio.

Those matches should present a challenge for the Cajuns, who return nine letterwinners and four starters from last year's team that went 4-29 under Amy Kraljev. Michigan was ranked 19th nationally last year after going 24-11, Rice returns five of six starters from a 13-17 squad and UTSA is coming off a 13-21 season.

The rest of the story

Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • August 29, 2008

[NewsCopy]

 HOUSTON - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns opened the 2008 season with a loss to nationally acknowledged Michigan, dropping straight sets by scores of 10-25, 22-25, and 17-25. Despite the 0-3 final score, the Cajuns played well and head coach Heather Mazeitis was proud of their performance.

RaginCajuns.com

John L. Strawn

[NewsCopy]

  HOUSTON - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns had a tough Friday to open the 2008 season, falling to Michigan early in the day and capping the night with a loss to Rice in straight sets by scores of 13-25, 16-25, and 14-25.

The Cajuns drop to 0-2 on the young season with the loss, as first-year Cajun head coach Heather Mazeitis and her team undertake their first regular season games together.

RaginCajuns.com

John L. Strawn

[NewsCopy]

 UL - University of Louisiana students will return to class on Thursday, but the effects of Hurricane Gustav will be felt at least through the weekend by the Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team.

Head coach Heather Mazeitis on Wednesday announced that the team would withdraw from this weekend's McNeese Tournament at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, La. The decision was made after considering the circumstances and consulting with UL Director of Athletics David Walker.

"We had to ask ourselves if playing in the tournament was going to be fair to our students," Mazeitis said. "For most of them it was their first hurricane. A lot of them have been sitting in a hotel and have not even seen the court in a few days. We did not want to withdraw, but otherwise it was going to be very difficult."

Withdrawing from the tournament eliminates matches with Southern Miss on Friday and McNeese and Mississippi State on Saturday, though discussions are ongoing with McNeese to reschedule the match. The Ragin' Cajuns will use this weekend to make up for lost time on the practice court.

Next for the Cajuns is their first home match of the year, taking on Stephen F. Austin in Earl K. Long Gymnasium on Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m.

The rest of the story

John L. Strawn

[CajunSaint]

looking forward to seeing the ladies at home. will be there to welcome them in their home opener.

[NewsCopy]

LAFAYETTE - The Lady Cajuns volleyball team swings back into action in their first home match of the 2008 season on Tuesday. They will take on visiting Stephen F. Austin at 7 p.m. in front of a home crowd and also on the Web thanks to a live internet stream at RaginCajuns.com (subscription required).

Coming off a 0-3 start in the Rice Tournament and three cancelled matches in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav, the Cajuns are eager to bring home their first victory while on the home hardwood. Louisiana had not lost three straight matches to start the season since 1998, but that has only served as motivation to come out strong against SFA.

“We’re really excited about playing at home,” head coach Heather Mazeitis said. “It’s all about progress right now. I think if we had played this weekend we would have been at a significant disadvantage, but we have had some great practices instead. This team is so ready to win, and as we go through this nonconference schedule we are looking for little victories so that once we get into Sun Belt play we can go after the big victories.”

The Ragin’ Cajuns have their work cut out against a tough SFA team, but are confident to take the court behind the stifling net defense crew of Elizabeth Inman, Amie Goodwin, Caroline Dufrene, and Tracie Knowlton. The quartet represents the top four blockers on the team, with seven, six, five and five blocks respectively. Along with Lesley Mirarchi (four), they have lifted the Cajuns to third place in blocking in the Sun Belt Conference, averaging 2.22 blocks per set. Inman stands tied at sixth in the conference for total blocks.

Stephen F. Austin’s Ladyjacks are coming off a 27-8 season, in which they won the Southland Conference regular season title for the fourth consecutive year. 2008 has not been so kind, as the Ladyjacks bring an even 3-3 record to Lafayette, with losses to St. Louis, Miami (OH) and Montana.

“They are a very good team, always on the cusp of being in the top 25 [in the AVCA Div. I coaches poll],” said Mazeitis of Stephen F. Austin’s team. “They are just very strong. What we have to do is make sure we pass well, run our middle effectively, and be prepared to dig everything they give us.”

RaginCajuns.com

[LuLu]

I noticed that my football season tickets had a punch card for Women's Fall sports. That would be 5 punches for each ticket. It includes volleyball and soccer. I plan on using it Tuesday.

Good luck Cajuns!

[snote]

Quick reminder of the match tonight. Also coach Mazeitis will be giving a preview of tonight's opponent and such around 2:45 on the Sportsnote.

Volleyball's Home Page

[wisconsincajun]

Good luck to the ladies tonight! We will be down there thursday to support them in the home tourney! Geaux Cajuns

[NewsCopy]

 LAFAYETTE - The Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team opened their 2008 home schedule with plenty of fans, excitement and applause in attendance. The only thing that evaded them was a win as Stephen F. Austin took three straight sets by scores of 25-11, 25-15, 25-20.

The Cajuns played their first home match of the season against SFA, and the Ladyjacks easily took the first two sets. But the noise from the crowd picked up in the third set and the team responded, making it a thrilling exchange complete with 11 tied scores. It was a battle the Cajuns led most of the way, but multiple errors slowed their momentum following a 17-17 tie, and SFA took advantage of the hiccup. They scored eight points to the Cajuns' three in the final 11 rallies.

Kendra Hall made her first start of the season, and tallied 18 total assists, with one service ace against no service errors. Offensively, the team was paced by Carly Payan with five kills, with Lesley Mirarchi and Amie Goodwin close behind with three each.

Defensively, Elizabeth Inman made three total blocks to continue her superb play at the net. Libero Lindsay Brown led the team in digs with 12.

Next, the Cajuns get set to host the Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball Classic Friday and Saturday. Coming into town will be Nicholls State, Northwestern State and Akron for five total matches, all played in Earl K. Long Gym in Lafayette.

RaginCajuns.com