The Book 2003-04 UL Lady Cajuns Volleyball

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Lady Cajuns to host season-opening tournament and have 11 home matches slated for 2003

LOUISIANA La. - After spending the first 17 games and first six weeks of the 2002 season on the road a schedule that featured more of a "home flavor" in 2003 seemed more appealing to Louisiana volleyball head coach Becky Madden.

Madden announced the club's 2003 slate Wednesday, one which has the Ragin' Cajuns beginning the season within the friendly confines of Earl K. Long Gym Friday-Saturday, Aug. 29-30 in the 2003 Our Lady of Lourdes Volleyball Classic.

Louisiana will host Alcorn State, Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana Tech in a two-day, three-team, round robin-style tournament on its home floor where the Cajuns have won 28 of their last 31 matches and went 20-3 in games last season under Madden.

The Cajuns are opening their season at home for the first time since the 1990 season when then-USL took on Indians State Aug. 31, 1990.

"Beginning the season at home was one of my goals when I sat down during the offseason to complete our schedule for this coming season," said head coach Becky Madden who will begin her second season in Cajun Country on Aug. 29. "Getting a tournament at our facility to open the season was the biggest factor in being able to do so."

"With a lot of our players being first time Division I athletes this will help them get accustomed to the game while being able to enjoy the comforts of home," Madden added. "It will be a huge benefit allowing us to be able to put things together before we head out on the road in September."

Louisiana kicks off the 2003 campaign on Friday, Aug. 29 in a 7 p.m. match with UL Monroe in its first game in the round robin Our Lady of Lourdes Classic.

On Saturday, the Cajuns face Alcorn State at 10 a.m. and then wrap up the classic at 7 p.m. against former Sun Belt Conference foe Louisiana Tech.

Louisiana will spend the major portion of September on the road participating in three in-season tournaments before beginning Sun Belt play on Friday, Sept. 26 with defending champion Western Kentucky at Long Gym.

September road stops will include Nacogdoches, Texas, for the Stephen F. Austin Invitational where the Cajuns will be paired with SFA, Texas-Pan American and Tulsa. The SFA tournament runs Friday-Saturday, Sept. 5-6.

A mid-week road match at Tulane on Tuesday, Sept. 9 follows the SFA Tournament and precedes a visit to Memphis, Tenn., for the University of Memphis Tournament Sept. 12-13.

Louisiana concludes in-season tournament action in Hattiesburg, Miss., Sept. 19-20 during the Forrest General SportsCare Volleyball Classic being hosted by the University of Southern Mississippi.

Following the USM tournament, the Cajuns will open the first of two four-match homestands Sept. 26 in the SBC opener with Western Kentucky at 7 p.m.

Other matches included in the four-match homestand include North Texas (Sept. 28, 1 p.m.), Denver (Oct. 3, 7 p.m.) and New Mexico State (Oct. 5, 1 p.m.)

Following the first four-match homestand, the Cajuns embark on a three-match road trip which takes them to South Alabama (Oct. 10, 7 p.m.), New Orleans (Oct. 11, 5 p.m.) and Florida International (Oct. 19, Noon).

After the FIU match, the Cajuns return to Long Gym for the final four-match homestand of the season beginning Friday, Oct. 24 against Arkansas-Little Rock.

Senior Day is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m., when Louisiana hosts South Alabama in the final home match of the season.

After the USA match, the Cajuns will end the 2003 season with a four-match road trip with stops in Las Cruces, N.M., Denver, Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Denton, Texas.

"Anytime you play on the road, no matter the sport, it's tough mentally for the players," Madden said. "When we get to that point in the season I will be stressing to the players that we be prepared for the road and it will also be a huge advantage in preparing us for the conference tournament as we get adjusted to playing away from home."

Western Kentucky will host the 2003 Sun Belt Volleyball championships Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 20-22 at the newly renovated E.A. Diddle Arena. This will be the first time that WKU has hosted the event since the Cajuns joined the league in 1991.

Madden will look to senior Beth Henson and junior Stacey Cole to lead the Cajuns this season with the loss of Clarice Laires and Priscilla Lima. Sophomore transfer Elina Salomaki will be counted on to fill the void in the middle of the court left by Laires and Lima.

The 2003 season will mark the 28th season of Lady Cajuns volleyball and the 13th within the Sun Belt Conference.

Louisiana will enter 2003 having posted winning seasons the last three years and will be going for a fourth straight winning season which hasn't happened since 1976-80 when the Cajuns posted five straight winning seasons.

To view the 2003 Ragin' Cajuns Volleyball Schedule please visit:
http://www.ragincajuns.com/Volleybal.3printable.htm

LOUISIANA SI

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2003 LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE RAGIN' CAJUNS VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE
All Times are Subject to Change

AUGUST:
29 - !LOUISIANA-MONROE, 7 p.m.;
30 - !ALCORN STATE, 10 a.m.; !LOUISIANA TECH, 7 p.m.

SEPTEMBER:
5 - #at Stephen F. Austin, 7 p.m.;
6 - #vs. Tulsa, 9:30 a.m.; #vs. Texas-Pan American, 4:30 p.m.;
9 - at Tulane, 7 p.m.;
12 - $vs. Holy Cross, 4 p.m.;
13 - $vs. Tennessee Tech, 10 a.m.; $at Memphis, 7 p.m.;
19 - %vs. Jackson State, 5 p.m.; 20 - %vs. Arkansas-Little Rock, 10 a.m.; %at Southern Mississippi, 4 p.m.;
26 - *WESTERN KENTUCKY, 7 p.m.;
28 - *NORTH TEXAS, 1 p.m.

OCTOBER:
3 - *DENVER, 7 p.m.;
5 - *NEW MEXICO STATE, 1 p.m.;
10 - *at South Alabama, 7 p.m.;
11 - *at New Orleans, 5 p.m.;
19 - *at Florida International, Noon;
24 - *ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK, 7 p.m.;
26 - *ARKANSAS STATE, 1 p.m.;
30 - * NEW ORLEANS, 7 p.m.

NOVEMBER:
2 - *SOUTH ALABAMA, 1 p.m.;
7 - *at New Mexico State, 7 p.m.;
9 - *at Denver, Noon;
14 - *at Middle Tennessee, 7 p.m.;
16 - *at North Texas, 1 p.m.;
20-22 - at Sun Belt Conference Tournament (Bowling Green, Ky.)

! Our Lady of Lourdes Volleyball Classic (Lafayette, La.)
# Stephen F. Austin Invitational (Nacogdoches, Texas)
$ University of Memphis Tournament (Memphis, Tenn.)
% Forrest General SportsCare Volleyball Classic (Hattiesburg, Miss.)
* Denotes Sun Belt Conference match
LOUISIANA SI

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LOUISIANA La. - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team was picked to finish fourth in the Sun Belt Conference's West Division in 2003 according to a preseason poll voted on by the league's coaches and released by the conference office Wednesday.

The Ragin' Cajuns, who are currently preparing for the second season under head coach Becky Madden, received 33 points and were six points behind West Division third-place pick Denver.

Overall, the Cajuns' point total ranked them seventh out of the league's 11 total teams.

Western Kentucky and New Mexico State, each two-time defending division champions, were picked to win their respective divisions for a third consecutive season. NMSU was a unanimous pick to win the West Division, while WKU received all but one first-place vote in a preseason poll of the league's 11 head volleyball coaches.

North Texas standout Corina Marginas was selected as the 2003 Sun Belt Volleyball Preseason Player of the Year. Both NMSU and WKU each had two players selected to the All-Sun Belt Preseason team.

Louisiana enjoyed its third straight winning season in 2002, sporting a 15-14 record, and recorded the program's second-most SBC wins under the direction of first-year head coach Becky Madden. The Cajuns would end up with a winning season despite having to play the first 17 matches on the road.

The Cajuns return just four letterwinners and three starters from last season's squad and face the daunting task of replacing two, 2002 All-Sun Belt First Team performers, Clarice Laires and Priscilla Lima, and last season's leader in kills, Stacey Cole.

Senior setter Beth Henson and sophomore outside hitter Lesley Tough highlight the list of returnees. Senior Lindsey Bermes and junior Stacy Liverett are the Cajuns other returnees from 2002.

Eight newcomers, a group that includes two junior college transfers and one four-year college transfer, will dot the roster in 2003 and provide the Cajuns win a new look. Tami Harvey, a record-setting setter at Lee Junior College, and Elina Salomaki, a transfer from Mississippi University for Women who recorded 273 kills and 278 digs as a freshman last year, headline the list of newcomers.

Louisiana will open its 2003 campaign at home on Friday, Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. in a match against Louisiana-Monroe in the opening round of the Our Lady of Lourdes SportsCare Volleyball Classic being held at Earl K. Long Gym.

LOUISIANA SI

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2003 Sun Belt Conference Predicted Order of Finish

** As voted on by the league's 11 head coaches
First-place votes in parentheses

 

East Division                   Pts.

1. Western Kentucky (10)        54

2. Arkansas-Little Rock         38

3. Middle Tennessee             34

4. Arkansas State (1)           24

5. Florida International        15

 

West Division                   Pts.

1. New Mexico State (11)        66        

2. North Texas                  54

3. Denver                       39

4. Louisiana                    33

5. New Orleans                  28

6. South Alabama                11

 

2003 All-Sun Belt Conference Preseason Team

Corina Marginas,  Sr., OH, North Texas

Trinia Cuseo,     Sr., MH, New Mexico State

KeKe Deckard,     Jr., OH, Middle Tennessee

Ivana Kuzmic,     So., MB, UALR

Tracy May,        Sr., LIB, Western Kentucky

Morgan Reader,    Jr., S, New Mexico State

Kristin Sheppard, Sr., S, North Texas

Crystal Towler,   So., OH, Western Kentucky

 

Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year
Corina Marginas, NT

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LOUISIANA La. — Louisiana's Lady Cajuns volleyball team will usher in the 2003 regular season and 28th in program history on today by hosting in-state rival UL Monroe in a 7 p.m. match at Earl K. Long Gym in the opening round of the Our Lady of Lourdes SportsCare Volleyball Classic.

Today’s match will be the first of three for the Cajuns over the weekend during the two-day, four-team, round-robin tournament. On Saturday, Louisiana will face Alcorn State at 10 a.m. and then Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m. in the tournament finale.

The Cajuns are opening the season at home for the first time since 1990 when Louisiana defeated Indiana State on Aug. 31, 1990.

Louisiana enters Friday's match having won six straight home openers and has won 28 of the last 32 matches contested at Long Gym since 1999.

The Cajuns are riding a four-match win streak in season openers and have only lost two games in those four matches. UL’s last season-opening loss came on Sept. 4, 1998 when Cal State Fullerton posted a 3-2 win. The Cajuns are 15-12 all-time in season openers.

The rest of the story

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The University of Louisiana [at Lafayette] wins its fifth straight season opener.

LOUISIANA La. - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball posted its fifth straight season-opening victory here Friday evening by taking a hard-earned 3-1 (30-28, 30-19, 28-30, 30-22) victory over in-state rival Louisiana-Monroe in the opening round of the Our Lady of Lourdes SportsCare Volleybal Classic at Earl K. Long Gym.

Sophomore outsider hitter Lesley Tough and true freshman Hope Webre each tallied 13 kills to lead the Cajuns' offensive attack.

As a team, Louisiana (1-0) outkilled the Indians 57-48 and had a .149 attack percentage compared to ULM's .094.

Tough posted the Cajuns lone double-double of the match, tallying 12 digs to register her ninth career double-double.

Junior Hollie Girouard had a stellar effort defensively for the Ragin' Cajuns - tallying a team-high 22 digs in her first match since the 2000 season after sitting out the past two seasons.

True freshman Kim Rodgers reached the double-digit mark in kills in her University of Louisiana debut, recording a total of 12 to give the Cajuns three players in the double-figure column for kills.

UL Monroe (0-1) was paced offensively by Lindsey Ehlert who garnered 17 kills. Megan Gloor tacked on 13 kills to give ULM two players with double-digit kills.

Gloor also had 14 digs to give the Indians their lone double-double. Laura Uyeda led all Indians with 22 digs.

The win was the Cajuns 29th in the last 33 matches at Long Gym since the 1999 season. Friday's match marked the first time that a Cajuns team opened the season at home since 1990.

The Cajuns return to action Saturday at 10 a.m., as they take on Alcorn State (0-1). UL Monroe will face Louisiana Tech at Noon and Alcorn State at 4:30 p.m., while Louisiana wraps up tournament action at 7 p.m.
against La. Tech (1-0).

In game one of the match, the Lady Cajuns took a 2-1 lead on an attack error Ehlert and never trailed the rest of the game. The Indians would trim the lead to 26-25 by reeling off five straight points behind the serve of Darci Mika.

After a Girouard attack error cut Louisiana's lead to 29-28, Tami Harvey sealed the win for the Lady Cajuns with a kill on the next serve.

In game two, the Lady Cajuns rallied from a 16-12 deficit and outscored the Indians 13-2 after tying the game 17-17.

Behind the serve of Lesley Tough, Louisiana erased a 17-16 deficit and turned it into a 24-17 lead.

Louisiana-Monroe used a rally of its own in the third game to force a fourth one.

Trailing 27-21, after blowing a 13-9 lead earlier in the game, the Indians staged an 8-0 run to take a 29-27 lead. Gloor served six straight points at one point to put the Indians on top.

After a service error by Gloor ended ULM's run, Ashley Williams recorded a kill to give UL Monroe the 30-28 win.

Louisiana led through much of the fourth game and broke open a 12-11 game with an 8-1 run. UL Monroe would pull within four points at 23-19 before a 7-3 Cajuns run ended the match.

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LOUISIANA La. - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team overcame a
sluggish performance and held off Alcorn State in a 3-1 (35-33, 30-26, 27-30, 30-19) win on the second day of the Our Lady of Lourdes SportsCare Volleyball Classic here at Earl K. Long Gym.

The Cajuns (2-0) survived 44 attack errors and 12 service errors to move to 2-0 on the season. UL posted its 30th win in the last 34 matches contested at Long Gym.

Louisiana will face off with in-state rival Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m. in the tournament finale.

Alcorn State (0-2) will return to action in the 4:30 p.m. match against UL Monroe.

True freshman Kim Rodgers led the Cajuns offensive attack with a career-best 27 kills. She also led UL with a .314 attack percentage.

Lesley Tough, 13 kills, and Hope Webre, 11 kills, gave Louisiana three players with double-digit kills. It was the second straight match with double-digit kills for both.

Libero Abrah Pond paced the Cajuns defensively with 11 digs.

Alcorn State received 16 kills from Tosin Fadeyi - a team-best. Donkia Sutton recorded 14 digs to lead ASU and all players in the match.

Louisiana outkilled the Braves 66-43. The Cajuns had 14 service aces led by six from Elina Salomaki.

Alcorn took advantage of Louisiana's -.021 attack percentage in game three to avoid a sweep and force a fourth one.

Louisiana turned things around in the fourth game, attacking at a match-best .262 clip (17 kills, 6 errors, 42 attempts) to roll to a 30-19 victory and seal the match victory.

The Cajuns jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back. ASU would trim the lead to 6-5 before the Cajuns erupted on an 11-1 run to pull out in front 17-6.

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MATCH SUMMARY

Alcorn State at Louisiana
Date: Aug. 30, 2003
Site: Earl K. Long Gym (Lafayette, La.)

Louisiana def. Alcorn State 35-33,30-26,27-30,30-19

Alcorn State (0-2)
(Kills-aces-blocks) - Fadeyi, Tosin 16-2-3; Sutton, Donkia 9-3-3; Mayfield, Rolanda 9-1-2; Daniels, LaQuinta 5-1-7; Robertson, Moriah 2-0-1; Myrick, Tamara 1-1-0; Ward, Brittney 1-0-2;
Totals 43-8-12.0.

(Assists) - Ward, Brittney 36.
(Dig leaders) - Sutton, Donkia 14; Myrick, Tamara 10; Fadeyi, Tosin 9; King, Tiffany 8; Mayfield, Rolanda 8

Louisiana (2-0)
(Kills-aces-blocks) - Rodgers, Kim 27-2-4; Tough, Lesley 13-3-3; Webre, Hope 11-0-2; Salomaki, Elina 7-6-5; Bermes, Lindsey 5-1-2; Girouard, Hollie 1-1-0; Harvey, Tami 1-1-0; Pattison, Jessica 1-0-0;
Totals 66-14-10.0.

(Assists) - Harvey, Tami 53. (Dig leaders) - Pond, Abrah 11; Girouard, Hollie 9; Tough, Lesley 8; Harvey, Tami 8

LOUISIANA SI

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LOUISIANA La. - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team had no answer for Louisiana Tech's Cristine Sant'Anna.

The senior outside hitter tortured the Cajuns all night long recording a match-high 16 kills in leading the Lady Techsters (3-0) to a 3-0 (30-20, 30-17, 30-25) win over UL in the championship match of the 2003 Our Lady of Lourdes SportsCare Volleyball Classic here at Earl K. Long Gym Saturday evening.

The loss dropped the Ragin' Cajuns to 2-1 on the season and was the first time that the Cajuns were swept in straight sets at Long Gym since Nov. 1, 1998 when Arkansas-Little Rock accomplished the feat.

The loss also snapped the Cajuns nine-match win streak versus Louisiana teams in Long Gym. Louisiana Tech was the last team to defeat the Cajuns in Long Gym, doing so on Nov. 13, 1998.

The win gave Louisiana Tech first place in the tournament while the Cajuns finished as the runner-up. Earlier in the day, UL Monroe downed Alcorn State 3-1 to claim third place.

UL was led offensively by freshman Kim Rodgers who collected a team-high 10 kills. The Kelowna, B.C., Canada, native ended the tournament with 49 kills for an average of 4.45 kpg. For her efforts she was named to the All-Tournament team.

Hollie Girouard led all Cajuns with 11 digs as she reached double-figures in the digs column for the second time in three matches.

Louisiana Tech dominated the team stats, outkilling the Cajuns 52-33 and outdigging them 60-39.

The Lady Techsters attacked above .300 for the second straight match of the day as they ended the match with a .307 attack percentage (52 kills, 17 errors, 114 attacks).

La. Tech took advantage of 10 service aces to just three for Louisiana.

Tech's Joy Opka turned in a double-double, posting 23 digs to go along with 10 kills. Megan Rush also had 10 kills for La. Tech, giving the Techsters three players in double-digit kills.

Louisiana will return to action next Friday-Saturday, Sept. 5-6 as the Cajuns participate in the Stephen F. Austin Invitational in Nacogdoches, Texas. The Cajuns face host SFA at 7 p.m. on Friday and follow that up with matches against Tulsa at 9:30 a.m. and Texas-Pan American at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

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MATCH SUMMARY
Louisiana Tech at Louisiana
Date: Aug. 30, 2003
Site: Earl K. Long Gym (Lafayette, La.)

Louisiana Tech def. Louisiana 30-20, 30-17, 30-25

Louisiana Tech (3-0)
(Kills-aces-blocks) - Sant'Anna, Cristine 16-4-1; Okpa, Joy 10-3-0; Rush, Megan 10-0-4; Jarvis, Tanya 7-0-2; Osterhaus, Laura 5-0-1; Mora, Lia 4-1-1; Fairbanks, Kristen 0-1-0; Clark, Stacey 0-1-0; Totals 52-10-6.0.

(Assists) - Mora, Lia 44.

(Dig leaders) -
Okpa, Joy 23; Sant'Anna, Cristine 9; Clark, Stacey 8

Louisiana (2-1)
(Kills-aces-blocks) - Rodgers, Kim 10-0-2; Tough, Lesley 8-1-0; Liverett, Stacy 5-1-1; Salomaki, Elina 4-0-2; Webre, Hope 2-0-0; Harvey, Tami 2-1-0; Bermes, Lindsey 2-0-2;
Totals 33-3-4.0.

(Assists) - Harvey, Tami 25. (Dig leaders) - Girouard, Hollie 11; Tough, Lesley 9

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2003 Our Lady of Lourdes SportsCare Volleyball Classic

All-Tournament Team

Kim Rodgers, Louisiana
Lindsey Bermes, Louisiana
Tosin Fadeyi, Alcorn State
Lindsey Ehlert, Louisiana-Monroe
Lia Mora, Louisiana Tech
Cristine Sant'Anna, Louisiana Tech

MVP - Cristine Sant'Anna, Louisiana Tech

LOUISIANA SI

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NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team will have to wait at least one more week to keep its streak of in-season tournament championships alive.

The Ragin' Cajuns (2-3) dropped a 3-1 (20-30, 16-30, 30-19, 19-30) decision to Tulsa (3-2) here Saturday morning at the Stephen F. Austin Invitational, dropping the Cajuns to 0-2 in the two-day tournament and eliminating them from tournament title contention.

Since the 2000 season, UL has claimed at least one in-season tournament crown.

Saturday morning's loss was also the Cajuns third straight after getting
off to a 2-0 start.

Tulsa was led by Kristin Bailey who racked up 18 kills to pace the
Golden Hurricane offense. Bailey continued her torrid pace in the SFA
Invitational, following up a 22-kill performance against Texas-Pan
American Friday night.

The Cajuns were led by a trio of players with nine kills. Kim Rodgers,
Lesley Tough and Hope Webre paced the Cajuns offensive efforts.

Tough and Hollie Girouard each had 19 digs to lead all Cajuns.

Tulsa took advantage of 14 Cajun reception errors and ended the match
with a .235 attack percentage.

The Golden Hurricane placed four players in the double-digit column for
digs and outdug the Cajuns 74-63.

UL Lafayette's Stacy Liverett tied a career-high with seven kills.

The Ragin' Cajuns did snap one streak. With the 30-19 win in game three,
the Cajuns posted their first third-game win of the young season.

Louisiana-Lafayette ended the match with a .151 attack percentage - the
fifth time this season that the Cajuns attacked below the .200 mark.

UL Lafayette will now attempt to snap its three-match slide in its final
match of the tournament which takes place at 4:30 p.m. against Texas-Pan
American.


MATCH SUMMARY

Tulsa vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
Site: Nacogdoches, Texas (Johnson Coliseum)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 6, 2003

Tulsa def. Louisiana-Lafayette 30-20, 30-16, 19-30, 30-19

Tulsa (3-2) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Bailey, Kristin 18-0-2; Penaluna,
Gabrielle 11-2-2; Eaves, Lindsay 8-2-2; Rutherford, Sam 7-1-2; Weddle,
Dana 6-1-1; Meyer, Amy 5-2-0; Bandy, Evyn 3-3-0; Marques, Patricia
0-3-0; Totals 58-14-6.0. (Assists) - Bandy, Evyn 48. (Dig leaders) -
Penaluna, Gabrielle 18; Meyer, Amy 15; Araujo, Nathalia 15; Bandy,
Evyn 10; Marques, Patricia 8

Louisiana-Lafayette (2-3) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Rodgers, Kim 9-2-3;
Tough, Lesley 9-3-1; Webre, Hope 9-0-3; Salomaki, Elina 8-1-1;
Liverett, Stacy 7-0-2; Bermes, Lindsey 3-1-1; Henson, Beth 1-1-0;
Totals 46-8-6.0. (Assists) - Henson, Beth 35. (Dig leaders) -
Girouard, Hollie 19; Tough, Lesley 19; Henson, Beth 8

Site: Nacogdoches, Texas (Johnson Coliseum)
Date: Sep 06, 2003 Attend: 59 Time: 1:40
Referees: Thang Nguyen, Jeannine McMahon

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Louisiana has lost four straight since 2-0 start

NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team will make a rare midweek appearance here Tuesday evening at Fogelman Arena as the visitors take on the host and in-state rival Tulane in a 7 p.m. match.

The Ragin' Cajuns (2-4) are continuing their season-long 10-match road trip which began last weekend at the Stephen F. Austin Invitational.

UL enters Tuesday's contest looking to snap a season-high four-match losing streak. Since beginning the season 2-0 the Cajuns have dropped four straight and are 4-12 in games during that span.

Tulane enters the match with a 5-1 record in matches played and is 15-8 in games played. The Green Wave had a five-match win streak snapped Saturday in a 3-0 (26-30, 23-30, 26-30) loss to No. 5 Nebraska in the NOKIA Sugar Bowl Classic.

The Cajuns are led by sophomore Lesley Tough who averages 3.29 kills per game. Last weekend at SFA Tough tallied 45 kills and 46 digs and along the way posted two double-doubles. She had a career-high 21 kills against Texas-Pan American Saturday and ended the weekend with a .228 hitting percentage.

Defensively Hollie Girouard continues to pace the Cajuns efforts. She leads the squad with 93 digs and last weekend at SFA she tallied 51 in 13 games as she led UL in digs for the second straight tournament. Girouard ranks fourth in the Sun Belt in digs per game.

Tulane features two players who each average over three kills per game. Anastasia Kenon leads the team with 3.61 kills per game (83 total in 23 games) while Deva Fowler is a close second at 3.39 kpg.

The Green Wave's defense is anchored by libero Karlyn Daly who has 95 digs (4.13 per game).

The two teams are meeting for 43rd time with Tulane holding a 35-7 advantage in the series. TU has won the last two meetings - both in straight sets. UL's last win in the series came on Sept. 22, 1998, a 3-2 win in New Orleans.

Last season the Cajuns and Green Wave squared off in the ING Louisiana Showcase at the New Orleans Sports Arena with Tulane posting a 3-0 (30-28, 30-28, 30-18) victory. Britney Hurst dominated the Cajuns racking up 30 kills and the Green Wave attack percentage was .293 to the Cajuns .148.

Following Tuesday's affair, the Ragin' Cajuns will return to action on Friday, Sept. 12 in a 4 p.m. match with Holy Cross in the opening round of the University of Memphis Tournament which runs through Saturday, Sept. 13.

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UL records season-high 18 aces

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team opened play here Friday afternoon at the University of Memphis Invitational with a 3-0 (31-29, 30-17, 30-14) win over Holy Cross at Elma Roane Fieldhouse.

The win improved the Cajuns to 3-5 on the season and snapped a five-match losing streak which dated back to Saturday, Aug. 30. Holy Cross fell to 1-5 on the season.

Louisiana posted its first straight sets sweep of the season and kept alive its hopes for an in-season tournament title for the fourth straight season.

The Cajuns were paced by senior setter Beth Henson and her match-high 12 kills. The Lafayette native also had 19 assists and 11 digs for her second triple-double of the season.

Lesley Tough extended her streak of matches with double-digit kills to three as she tallied 11 kills. With her ninth kill of the match she moved over the century mark for the season and has now posted double-digit kills in all but two of the Cajuns matches this season.

The Cajuns also benefited from a season-high 18 service aces. Henson led the way with seven while freshman Hope Webre added a career-best six.

The Cajuns defense dominated the Crusaders out-digging them 52-35 andm holding Holy Cross to a .038 attack percentage.

Holy Cross was also hurt by 11 service errors to go along with its 18 reception errors.

UL Lafayette out-killed the Crusaders 43-23 and out-blocked them 6.5-3.0. Kim Rodgers led the way with five blocks.

Hollie Girouard tallied 13 digs for the Cajuns to extend her streak of matches with double-digit digs to six.

Louisiana returns to action Saturday as the Cajuns wrap up play in the Memphis Invitational with a 10 a.m. match against Tennessee Tech and 7 p.m. tilt with host-Memphis.

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Louisiana hurt by 33 attack errors and 16 service errors

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team was unable to make up for its mistakes here Saturday morning dropping a 3-1 (30-22, 29-31, 22-30, 24-30) decision to Tennessee Tech in the second round of the University of Memphis Invitational.

The Cajuns (3-6) committed 33 attack errors and 16 service errors eliminating the advantage they had in out-killing the Golden Eagles 67-51. TTU (1-5) also had a 13.0-3.0 advantage in blocks led by Annette Kupka's four block solos.

UL Lafayette, coming off of its first win in two weeks, lost the match despite having four players tally double-figures in kills and four reach double-digits in digs.

Beth Henson led the Cajuns in kills for the second straight match as she collected a career-high 20. Freshman Hope Webre chipped in with 15 kills to tie her career best. Kim Rodgers and Lesley Tough each had 11.

Hollie Girouard led the Cajuns defensive effort with 18 digs as she reached double-figures in digs for the seventh straight match.

Henson and Tami Harvey split time at setter for the Cajuns. Harvey led the Cajuns with 37 assists while Henson had 21.

TTU placed three players in double-digit kills led by Liz Engel's 18. The win was the first of the season for the Golden Eagles and first under former Ole Miss head coach John Blair.

UL will wrap up play at the UM Invitational at 7 p.m. when the Cajuns take on host-Memphis in the tournament finale.


MATCH SUMMARY

Louisiana vs. Tennessee Tech
Site: Memphis, Tenn. (Elma Roane Fieldhouse)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 13, 2003
Att: 58 Time: 1:44

Tennessee Tech 3, Louisiana 1
1 2 3 4
Louisiana (3-6) 30 29 22 24
Tenn. Tech (1-5) 22 31 30 30

Louisiana-Lafayette (3-6)
(Kills-aces-blocks) - Henson, Beth 20-1-1; Webre, Hope 15-2-0; Tough, Lesley 11-1-2; Rodgers, Kim 11-0-2; Salomaki, Elina 4-0-1; Pattison, Jessica 3-0-0; Harvey, Tami 2-2-0; Bermes, Lindsey 1-0-0; Totals 67-6-3.0.
(Assists) - Harvey 37; Henson 21.
(Dig leaders) - Girouard 18; Harvey 15; Tough 14; Webre 10

Tennessee Tech (1-5)
(Kills-aces-blocks) - Engel, Liz 18-2-2; Kupka, Annette 11-2-8; Morrow, Anne 10-0-1; Sidorowicz, Laura 6-0-1; Tyburski, Laura 5-0-0; Meyer, Nancy 1-0-5; Kastner, Kristen 0-0-1; Perry, Courtney 0-3-0; Totals 51-7-13.0. (Assists) - Meyer 43.
(Dig leaders) - Tyburski 21; Engel 15; Perry 10; Meyer 10

LOUISIANA SI

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Louisiana participating in Southern Miss tournament Friday and Saturday

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team will close out its season-long 10-match road swing and non-conference schedule here Friday-Saturday, Sept. 19-20 at the Forrest General SportsCare Volleyball Classic being hosted by the University of Southern Mississippi.

UL (3-7) will face Jackson State (7-6) on Friday at 5 p.m. in the tournament opener.

On Saturday, the Cajuns will get a preview of Sun Belt Conference competition when they play Arkansas-Little Rock (7-3) at 10 a.m. Louisiana's final match of the tournament takes place at 4 p.m. Saturday against host-USM (10-2).

This weekend's tournament provides the Cajuns with the final opportunity to extend their streak of consecutive seasons with an in-season tournament championship to four. Louisiana-Lafayette has claimed at least one in-season tournament title since 2000.

The Ragin' Cajuns are coming off of a 1-2 weekend at the Memphis Invitational. While at UM, the Cajuns snapped their season-high five-match losing streak with a 3-0 sweep of Holy Cross, but fell to Tennessee Tech and Memphis last Saturday.

Head coach Becky Madden will use the tournament as an opportunity to ready her squad for the upcoming Sun Belt Conference battles which begin next Friday at Earl K. Long Gym versus Western Kentucky.

"I think we have found a lineup that we will be utilizing for remainder of season," Madden said. "This will give them an opportunity to work together and familiarize each ones tendencies.

"It will also be good to see our conference rival Arkansas-Little Rock to get a taste of what the conference competition will be like."

Following this weekend's tournament, UL returns home for the beginning of a four-match homestand on Friday, Sept. 26 against three-time defending Sun Belt champion Western Kentucky.

FORREST GENERAL SPORTSCARE VOLLEYBALL CLASSIC
Hosted by the University of Southern Mississippi
Friday-Saturday, Sept. 19-20, 2003
Hattiesburg, Miss.

Friday, Sept. 19
5 p.m. - Louisiana (3-7) vs. Jackson State (7-6)
7 p.m. - Southern Miss (10-2) vs. UALR (7-3)

Saturday, Sept. 20
10 a.m. - Louisiana vs. UALR
Noon - Southern Miss vs. Jackson State
2 p.m. - UALR vs. Jackson State
4 p.m. - Southern Miss vs. Louisiana

LOUISIANA SI

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UL will take on Southern Miss and UALR on Saturday

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team returned to the win column Friday afternoon posting a 3-0 (30-21, 30-17, 30-13) sweep of Jackson State in the first day of competition at the Forrest General SportsCare Classic here at the Payne Center on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi.

Cajuns were paced by the setter combo of senior Beth Henson and junior Tami Harvey. Henson had 19 assists and led the team in kills with 15 and also had a team-high five service aces.

Harvey led the Cajuns with 20 assists and also chipped in a team-high seven digs. Lindsey Bermes had nine kills for the Cajuns.

Jackson State committed 18 attack errors, while the Cajuns only committed nine.

Angela Franke led the Tigers with 24 assists, while Chinyere Marner and Katrina Dunn led the team with seven kills each. Cara Jones committed a team-high nine attack errors.

The sweep was the Cajuns second of the season and ended a two-match slide.

The second day of the Forrest General SportsCare Classic will continue Saturday as Louisiana takes on Sun Belt Conference-member Arkansas-Little Rock in a 10 a.m. match and then concludes tournament play against host-Southern Mississippi in a 4 p.m. match.

LOUISIANA SI

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Louisiana vs. Jackson State
Site: Payne Center (Hattiesburg, Miss.)
Date: Friday, Sept. 19, 2003
Att: 106 Time: 1:10

Louisiana 3, Jackson State 0

                             1         2         3

Louisiana (4-7)             30        30        30

Jackson State (7-7)         21        17        13

 

Louisiana (4-7) (Kills-Aces-Blocks) - Henson, Beth 15-5-0; Harvey, Tami 0-1-0; Webre, Hope 4-1-0.5; Liverett, Stacy 7-0-0; Bermes, Lindsey 9-0-0.5; Salomaki, Elina 7-1-0.5; Girouard, Hollie 1-0-0; Rodgers, Kim 3-0-2.0; Tough, Lesley 4-0-0.5; Pattison, Jessica 3-0-1.0; Totals 53-8-5.0.

(Assists) - Harvey 20, Henson 19, Webre 2, Bermes 2.
(Dig leaders) - Harvey 7, Henson 6, Girouard 6.

Jackson State (7-7)
(Kills-Aces-Blocks) - Carline, Denetia 1-0-0; Jones, Cara 6-2-0; Danielly, Shinician 6-0-0; Dunn, Katrina 7-0-0; Marner, Chinyere 7-0-0; Franke, Angela 1-0-0; Henderson, Whitney 0-0-0; White, Verita 0-0-0;

Totals 28-2-0.
(Assists) - Franke 24, Marner 1, Dunn 1.
(Dig leaders) - White 7, Henderson 6.LOUISIANA SI