The Book 2003-04 UL Lady Cajuns Volleyball

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Hollie Girouard improves to help Cajun volleyball.

LOUISIANA la. — She is as confident — and as competitive — as any University of Louisiana volleyball player has ever been, but one month ago Hollie Girouard had some major questions about herself.

She was coming back to collegiate play after a self-imposed hiatus of two years, and that self-confidence had her believing such a return would be a snap.

“I expected to just jump in and be as good if not better than before,” she said. “I have pretty high expectations for myself.”

It wasn’t happening.

Girouard had worked her way back into a regular spot after trying out with second-year Cajun head coach Becky Madden, but her preseason play didn’t meet her standards.

“It was rough at first,” she said. “I wasn’t getting to balls that I used to get to, I wasn’t able to read the hitters. It was a lot of little athletic and mental things that I had lost track of. I didn’t think I’d be able to catch up … I thought I had fallen so far behind.”

The rest of the story

Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@lafayette.gannett.com

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Louisiana hosts Sun Belt West Division foe Denver Friday at 7p.m.

LOUISIANA La. - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team continues its current four-match homestand here Friday at Earl K. Long Gym versus Sun Belt Conference West Division foe Denver at 7 p.m., looking to break into the win column in conference play and snap a four-match losing streak.

Louisiana (4-11, 0-2 Sun Belt) opened SBC play last weekend dropping a pair of heartbreakers to Western Kentucky and North Texas. Last Sunday the Cajuns held a 2-0 lead against NT before the Mean Green rallied to win the final three games of the match and steal a win.

Denver (10-5, 2-0 Sun Belt) posted wins over South Alabama (28-30, 30-19, 36-34, 30-14) and New Orleans (30-25, 30-22, 30-20) last weekend for its first 2-0 start to Sun Belt play since joining the league in 1999. The Pioneers return all six starters and 10 of 11 letterwinners from last season squad.

Louisiana-Lafayette leads the all-time series 5-3 and has won the last three meetings with DU at Long Gym. The Cajuns won the only meeting between the two teams last season posting a 3-0 (30-16, 30-18, 30-24) win on Nov. 10 at Long Gym.

Head coach Becky Madden realizes the importance of this weekend's matches with Denver Friday and then New Mexico State on Sunday. The Cajuns are 0-2 in the Sun Belt and need a win or two to get back in the race as only eight of the 11 league schools qualify for the conference tournament.

""You can only stay positive for so long when you are on a losing streak," Madden commented. "It is imperative that we come out this weekend and play well together and get a win just so we have something to feel good about, to build upon, but more importantly stay in the conference race."

"They (Denver and New Mexico State) are two legitimate teams that are playing well in league play right now," Madden said of Denver and NMSU's 2-0 league starts. "It will take a complete team effort for the entire match in order for us to get the results we need."

Following Friday's match, the Cajuns will conclude their four-match homestand on Sunday in a 1 p.m. match with New Mexico State (11-4, 2-0
Sun Belt).

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MOBILE, Ala. - After this weekend, Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team will know its chances of qualifying for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

The Cajuns (4-13, 0-4 Sun Belt) are currently tied for ninth place in the overall SBC standings. Eight teams (out of 11) qualify for the league championships being held Nov. 20-22 in Bowling Green, Ky.

This weekend the Cajuns will face South Alabama (3-12, 0-4 Sun Belt) and New Orleans (7-11, 1-2 Sun Belt) with an opportunity to surpass both of them and into the eighth and final slot as the league season nears the halfway point.

On Friday the Cajuns will take on USA at 7 p.m. here at Jaguar Gym. Then on Saturday, the Cajuns head back west on I-10 to face UNO in a 3 p.m. match.

A pair of wins over the weekend would put UL Lafayette back on track to qualify for the SBC Tournament. A pair of losses and the Cajuns would be 0-6 in the league and at least two wins out of the final tournament slot.

Louisiana has had its way with the Jaguars the past six seasons. The Cajuns have won the last 13 meetings between the two schools and hasn't lost to USA since Oct. 20, 1995.

South Alabama enters Friday's match riding a 23-match losing streak in Sun Belt regular season matches. The Jags last Sun Belt win came on Oct. 28, 2001.

Louisiana will be attempting to snap a streak of its own. The Cajuns have lost six straight matches overall and five straight in SBC play dating back to last season.

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Louisiana drops ninth consecutive match, falls to 0-7 in Sun Belt play

MIAMI - Elina Salomaki and Hope Webre each tallied 10 kills but it wasn't enough as Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team suffered its ninth straight defeat here Sunday afternoon dropping a 3-0 (27-30, 16-30, 21-30) decision to host-Florida International in Golden Panther Arena.

With the loss UL fell to 4-16 overall and 0-7 in Sun Belt play. FIU improved to 11-9 overall and 3-4 in Sun Belt play.

The Golden Panthers ended their four-match losing streak while the Cajuns moved within one loss of tying the program record for consecutive losses.

Louisiana's Achilles heel all season long, attacking errors, came back to haunt them once more. The Cajuns committed 27 errors to 17 for FIU.

After hitting the ball well in the opening game of the match, attacking at a .275 clip, the Cajuns fortunes went downward in the final two games with percentages of .000 and .024 in the second and third games respectively.

Meanwhile, FIU kept its hitting percentage consistent throughout the match attacking above .250 in each game including a match-high .300 in the 30-27 win in game one.

The Golden Panthers also took advantage of 10.5 blocks to just 5.0 for UL. Julie Doan led all players with four blocks while Adriana Fundora and Jessica Jones each tacked on three blocks. Setter Charlyn Ball-Llovera tallied the match's lone block solo.

Kim Rodgers added eight kills for Louisiana and collected two blocks. Stacy Liverett led all Cajuns with three blocks.

Senior Beth Henson posted a team-best 11 digs to go along with 16 assists. Hollie Girouard and Salomaki each had five digs.

Doan led FIU with 13 kills followed by 12 from Fundora. Fundora had seven kills in the nip-and-tuck game one.

The Golden Panthers cruised to a 30-16 win in game two while holding UL to a .000 hitting percentage (9 kills, 9 errors).

Game three was close early on until FIU won nine-straight points behind the serve of Jones to open up a 23-12 lead. Doan finished the game with a kill to give the Golden Panthers a 30-21 win to clinch the straight sets sweep.

With the win FIU avenged a 3-0 UL victory last season and notched its second win in the all-time series. Both of FIU's wins over Louisiana have come in Miami - both on the Cajuns last two trips.

Louisiana will play its next four matches within the friendly confines of Earl K. Long Gym over the next two weekends to conclude the home portion of the 2003 slate.

The Cajuns open the homestand on Friday, Oct. 24 against Arkansas-Little
Rock (12-9, 3-4 Sun Belt).

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MATCH SUMMARY

Louisiana at Florida International
Site: Golden Panther Arena (Miami, Fla.)
Date: Sunday, Oct. 19, 2003
Att: 73 Time: 1:27

FIU 3, Louisiana 0
1 2 3
UL (4-16, 0-7 SBC) 27 16 21
FIU (11-9, 3-4 SBC) 30 30 30

Louisiana (4-16 (0-7 SBC))

(Kills-aces-blocks) - Webre, Hope 10-0-2; Salomaki, Elina 10-0-1; Rodgers, Kim 8-0-2; Henson, Beth 4-0-1; Harvey, Tami 3-1-0; Liverett, Stacy 2-1-3; Pattison, Jessica 2-0-1; Totals 39-2-5.0.

(Assists) - Harvey 18; Henson 16.

(Dig leaders) - Henson 11; Salomaki 6

Fla. International (11-9 (3-4 SBC))

(Kills-aces-blocks) - Doan, Julie 13-0-4; Fundora, Adriana 12-0-3; Owens, Jennifer 9-0-3; Jones, Jessica 6-1-3; Rodney, Myriam 6-0-2; Vogel, Laura 1-1-2; Ball-Llovera,Charlyn 0-0-2; Moreland, Betsy 0-1-1; Totals 47-3-10.5.

(Assists) - Moreland 38.

(Dig leaders) - Fundora 13; Baldwin 7

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Louisiana's next four matches to be played in Long Gym

LOUISIANA La. - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team will open a four-match homestand Friday with a 7 p.m. match against Sun Belt Conference East Division foe Arkansas-Little Rock.

Friday's match marks the first of four home matches over the next two weekends for Louisiana-Lafayette as the Cajuns round out the home schedule for the 2003 season.

The Cajuns (4-16, 0-7 Sun Belt) will be looking to put an end to a season-high nine-match losing streak, which dates back to Sept. 20, and claim their first Sun Belt victory of the season.

UALR (12-9, 3-4 Sun Belt) has won its last two conference outings after dropping four of its first five. The Trojans swept past UNO and South Alabama last weekend - led by Sun Belt Player of the Week Larisa Durmisevic.

The Cajuns will be without sophomore Lesley Tough this weekend. The team's leader in kills per game suffered a minor shoulder injury last Sunday prior to the FIU match and is doubtful for this weekend with a probable return for next Thursday's match against South Alabama.

In her absence Louisiana will rely on a quartet of players that average over two kills per game. Freshman Hope Webre leads the group with 2.35 kills per game.

UALR depends on the swing of junior Ivana Vracar, who averages 5.13 kills per game, for quick offense. On defense sophomore middle blocker Ivana Kuzmic has a team-best 30 block solos and averages 1.15 blocks per game.

The Trojans lead the all-time series 18-1 and have won all regular season meetings between the two schools. UL Lafayette's lone win in the series came in the 2001 Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Denver.

Following Friday's match the Cajuns will continue the homestand on Sunday at 1 p.m. against SBC East Division leader Arkansas State.

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Freshman Hope Webre leads the way with career-high 24 kills as Louisiana ends an 11-match losing streak

LOUISIANA La. - Behind the combination of Hope Webre's 24 kills and Elina Salomaki's 19, Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team earned its first conference win of the season and snapped a season-high 11-match losing streak with a 3-1 (30-27, 30-28, 25-30, 30-22) victory over I-10 rival University of New Orleans Thursday evening at Earl K. Long Gym.

The win improved UL's record to 5-18 overall and 1-9 in the Sun Belt and was the Cajuns first triumph since Sept. 19 when the Cajuns defeated Jackson State 3-0. It was also snapped the Cajuns seven-match losing streak at Long Gym.

With the loss, UNO falls to 9-17 overall and 3-7 in the Sun Belt and lost its fifth match in its last six outings since defeating the Cajuns 3-0 on Oct. 11.

Both Salomaki and Webre tallied new career-highs for kills and collected double-doubles as they posted 18 and 12 digs respectively. For Salomaki it was her fourth straight match with double-digit kills and first career double-double.

Webre led the team with a .350 hitting percentage tallying her 24 kills on 60 attempts while committing only three errors. It was Webre's final kill of the night that gave the Cajuns their 30th point of game four and ended six weeks worth of frustration.

Five different Cajuns tallied double-digit digs led by libero Hollie Girouard's season-high 23. Lindsey Bermes had a career-best 18 digs while setter Beth Henson chimed in with 14.

UNO was led by 19 kills from Jennifer Cruz. Cruz tallied the Privateers lone double as she tacked on 17 digs. Like UL Lafayette, UNO had five players in double-digit digs led by 22 from Anais Urdaz.

UL Lafayette out-blocked UNO 10.0-6.0 behind six blocks from Stacy
Liverett. Both Henson and Webre each tallied block solos.

As a team, Louisiana attacked at a .174 percentage to UNO's .112 - the first time the Cajuns had a higher attack percentage since the Sept. 19 win over JSU.

The win by the Cajuns evened the season series and extended Louisiana's win streak over the Privateers at Long Gym to six matches. UNO's win in game three snapped a string of 11 straight games lost on the Cajuns home court.

Louisiana returns to action on Sunday, Nov. 2, as the Cajuns play their final home match of the season at 1 p.m. against South Alabama in Long Gym.

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New Orleans at Louisiana
Site: Lafayette, La. (Earl K. Long Gym)
Date: Thursday, Oct. 30, 2003
Att: 239 Time: 2:00

Louisiana 3, New Orleans 1

                         1  2  3  4

UNO (9-17, 3-7 SBC)     27 28 30 22

UL  (5-18, 1-9 SBC)     30 30 25 30 

 

New Orleans (9-17, 3-7 Sun Belt)
(Kills-aces-blocks) - Cruz, Jennifer 19-1-2; Carr, Hillary 12-1-3; Zimmer, Christine 8-0-2; Helgeson, Jessica 7-1-2; Meyers, Amanda 6-0-2; Bauer, Kylee 4-0-0; Urdaz, Anais 4-0-0;
Totals 60-3-6.0.

(Assists) - Bauer 50.
(Dig leaders) - Urdaz 22; Zimmer 20; Duncan 17; Cruz 17

Louisiana (5-18, 1-9 Sun Belt)
(Kills-aces-blocks) - Webre, Hope 24-1-4; Salomaki, Elina 19-2-1; Liverett, Stacy 7-0-6; Bermes, Lindsey 7-0-1; Rodgers, Kim 5-0-2; Henson, Beth 2-0-4; Totals 64-3-10.0.

(Assists) - Henson 53.

(Dig leaders) - Girouard 23; Bermes 18; Salomaki 18; Henson 14; Webre 12

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Louisiana faces South Alabama at 1 p.m. at Long Gym

LOUISIANA La. - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team will look to make it back-to-back victories and get back into the race for a spot in the Sun Belt Tournament here Sunday against Sun Belt Conference West Division rival South Alabama at 1 p.m. in Earl K. Long Gym on "Senior Day."

UL recently snapped its season-high 11-match losing streak with a 3-1 (30-27, 30-28, 25-30, 30-22) win over New Orleans on Thursday.

Now the Cajuns (5-18, 1-9 Sun Belt) look to make it two straight for the first time since the season-opening weekend when the Cajuns defeated UL Monroe and Alcorn State Aug. 29-30.

Louisiana can also put itself back into contention for a spot in the 2003 Hardee's Sun Belt Conference Tournament with a victory and distance itself from the last-place Jaguars (4-19, 1-10 Sun Belt).

The Cajuns are just two victories behind UNO (3-7 Sun Belt) for eighth and final tournament spot and a win Sunday combined with a UNO loss to North Texas puts the Cajuns one game out of the tournament.

Sunday's match also marks the final home match of the 2003 season for the Ragin' Cajuns and the final one ever for seniors Beth Henson and Lindsey Bermes.

USA enters Sunday's match on a six-match SBC losing streak since snapping a 25-match conference losing skid with a 3-1 (27-30, 34-32, 30-27, 30-24) victory over UL Oct. 10 in Mobile, Ala.

The Cajuns lead the all-time series 22-8 and had won 13 straight over the Jags before the Oct. 10 loss.

Louisiana has won the last six meetings between the two teams at Long Gym. The Cajuns have posted straight set sweeps in five of those six wins.

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Elina Salomaki and Hollie Girouard Named Sun Belt Volleyball Players of the Week

LOUISISNA La. - Louisiana's Lady Cajuns volleyball team picked up its first Sun Belt Conference wins of the season last weekend receiving key performances from middle blocker Elina Salomaki and libero Hollie Girouard along the way.

On Monday, both Salomaki and Girouard were recognized for their efforts by being named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week respectively.

Salomaki posted a pair of double-doubles to pace the Cajuns offensive efforts. The Helsinki, Finland, native had 19 kills and 18 digs in the squad's 3-1 win over UNO and added 16 kills and 11 digs in a 3-0 sweep of South Alabama Sunday to extend her streak of consecutive matches with double-digit kills to five.

Girouard finished the weekend with 36 digs in seven games for an average of 5.14 per game as she anchored the Cajuns defense. She collected a career-best 23 digs against UNO and rounded out the week with 13 against USA. The Broussard native has posted double-digit digs in the last three matches and in 18 of the Cajuns 24 matches this season.

Both of their selections marked the first time this season that a Cajuns player earned either one of the weekly honors.

Salomaki becomes the fifth player in program history to be named Player of the Week and her selection marks the fifth straight season that UL has had at least one player claim the honor.

With the two wins last weekend, the Cajuns moved within one game of both UNO and Florida International for the eighth and final spot in the 2003 Hardee's Sun Belt Conference to be held Nov. 20-22 in Bowling Green, Ky.

Louisiana has four more chances to clinch that spot beginning Friday, Nov. 7 in an 8 p.m. match at Sun Belt West Division leader New Mexico State.

The Cajuns will spend the final two weekends of the season on the road after completing their home schedule Sunday against South Alabama.

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Louisiana's All-Time Sun Belt Player of the Week

O. 31, 1994        Nia Kiggundu

S. 18, 1995        Nia Kiggundu

O. 9, 1995         Nia Kiggundu

S. 9, 1996         Nia Kiggundu

O. 18, 1999        Priscilla Lima

N. 13, 2000        Amy Kraljev

S. 10, 2001        Clarice Laires

N. 4, 2002         Clarice Laires

N. 3, 2003         Elina Salomaki

 

Louisiana's All-Time Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week

(award began in 2001 season)

S. 24, 2001        Clarice Laires

O. 15, 2001        Janaina Gomes

S. 2, 2002         Clarice Laires

S. 23, 2002        Priscilla Lima

O. 14, 2002        Priscilla Lima

N. 11, 2002        Clarice Laires

N. 3, 2003       Hollie Girouard 

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UL opens four-match road trip Friday at conference-leader New Mexico State

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Louisiana's Lady Cajuns volleyball team continues its push for a spot in the Hardee's Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Tournament here Friday in an 8 p.m. (CST) match against league-leader New Mexico State at the Pan American Center.

The Lady Cajuns (6-18, 2-9 Sun Belt) enter the match on a two-match winning streak after picking up a pair of wins against New Orleans and South Alabama last weekend.

As a result, Louisiana is now just one game behind UNO and Florida International, both with 3-8 league records, for the eighth and final spot in the league tournament heading into the final two weekends of the season.

Friday's match also marks the beginning of four straight road matches to conclude the regular season for the Lady Cajuns. Louisiana wrapped up its home schedule last Sunday against South Alabama.

NMSU (23-4, 11-0 Sun Belt) is arguably one of the hottest teams in the nation right now.

The Aggies enter Friday's match riding a season-high 17-match winning streak overall and have won their last 14 SBC matches dating back to last season. During the streak NMSU has won 51 of 61 games and has posted 11 straight set sweeps.

The Lady Cajuns will be seeking to avenge a 3-1 loss to NMSU earlier this season at Long Gym. So far, Louisiana-Lafayette is 2-0 against SBC West Division counterparts on the second leg of the round robin schedule.

Louisiana will rely on its balanced offensive attack which features six active players who have tallied over 100 kills this season.

Sophomore Elina Salomaki and freshman Hope Webre have been the driving force behind the Cajuns resurgence as of late.

Salomaki, this week's Sun Belt Player of the Week, has tallied double-digit kills in her last five matches and has posted double-doubles in her last two. She leads the team with 2.92 kills per game and 114 total in SBC play.

Webre has stepped up with the absence of Lesley Tough, the team leader in kills per game. The freshman outside hitter had a career-day against UNO last Thursday smashing 24 kills and has 38 kills in her last two outings.

The Aggies lead the all-time series 5-3, having won the last two meetings. Louisiana is winless at the Pan American Center and has been swept in its last two appearances.

Following Friday's match the Cajuns will continue their season-ending four-match road trip on Sunday, Nov. 9 in a 1 p.m. match at Denver.

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