The Book 2004-05 UL Lady Cajuns Volleyball

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Louisiana looking for its first 1-0 conference start since 2001

DENTON, Texas - For Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team, the portion of the season which counts the most has arrived.

Non-conference matches count as wins and losses and prepare you for competition in conference play. But, conference matches are what determines championships and ultimately your postseason dreams.

Louisiana (3-10) begins Sun Belt Conference play here Friday night when the visiting Ragin' Cajuns take on host-North Texas (1-10) in the conference opener for both squads at The Snake Pit on the NT campus. First serve is set for 7 p.m.

Friday's match is the beginning of the Cajuns quest to make a return to the annual Sun Belt Conference Tournament after a one-year absence. UL struggled to a 2-13 conference mark during the 2003 season and missed the tournament for the first time since 1996.

The squad has vowed to return to the tournament in 2004 and Friday's match is the first step toward meeting the goal.

The match is also the continuation of the squad's season-long, 10-match road trip and the first of four straight conference matches on the road.

Louisiana is coming off of arguably its best back-to-back performances of the season.

The Cajuns finished play at last week's Ole Miss Rebel Classic posting 50-plus kills in the final two matches, splitting the matches and snapping a season-high, nine-match losing streak.

The Cajuns blocking corps continued to shine, posting double-digit blocks in both matches. UL Lafayette has reached double-figure blocking in eight of 13 matches this season registering 128 blocks.

The blocking game should bear a significant factor as the Cajuns have tallied double what the Mean Green has been able to chalk up this season.

Elina Salomaki and Hope Webre provide the 1-2 punch offensively averaging 2.69 and 2.43 kills per game respectively.

Webre continued her improved play at the Ole Miss Rebel Classic putting down 33 kills (2.75 per game) while posting a .209 attack percentage.

Freshman setter Katelynn Stiefel has shown sings of progress as well. Stiefel tallied 40-plus assists in both of the Friday matches at the Ole Miss Rebel Classic

North Texas is adjusting to having lost four starters from last season's 22-14 squad. The Mean Green has struggled with the transition beginning the season with seven straight losses.

NT is paced offensively by Katy Prokof and Brittney Gregory. Both have tallied 100-plus kills thus far and average 2.86 and 2.78 respectively.

The contest marks the Mean Green's second home outing of the season. NT opened the season with seven straight road matches before hosting Texas Southern Tuesday, Sept. 14.

Louisiana is looking for its first Sun Belt Conference opening-victory since the 2001 season.

The Cajuns will also be attempting to snap a four-match losing streak against the Mean Green. UL Lafayette's last victory in the series was a 3-2 (24-30, 29-31, 30-24, 30-21, 15-6) victory

Following Friday's match, the Ragin' Cajuns will head to Bowling Green, Ky., for a Sunday matinee with four-time Sun Belt East Division champion Western Kentucky (11-1).

LOUISIANA SI

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LOUISIANA La. - Louisiana's LAdy Cajuns volleyball team earned its first home victory of the season with a 3-0 (30-28, 31-29, 30-28) sweep of Lamar here Thursday evening at Earl K. Long Gym.

In a match where each game was decided by two points it was the Ragin' Cajuns who took advantage of a 54-41 advantage in kills to register its second straight sets sweep of the season.

Louisiana (4-15) posted at least 15 kills in each game including a match-high 20 in the third game.

The Cajuns hitting percentage was above .200 in each game and the final percentage of .207 was the highest since hitting .216 in a 3-2 win over Illinois-Chicago on Sept. 17.

Elina Salomaki led the Cajuns offense with a match-high 14 kills as she reached double-figures for the third straight match. Salomaki added 15 digs to record her second straight double-double and fifth of the season.

Hope Webre continued her recent improved play by tacking on 11 kills for her second straight match in double-digits.

Hollie Girouard led the Cajuns defensive efforts with a career-high 25 digs. UL put four players in double-digits and out-dug the Cardinals 75-53.

Lamar (7-11), dropping its 10th match in the last 11 outings, received a team-best 12 kills from Molli Abel.

The first game featured 13 tied scores and five lead changes. With the score kotted 25-25, UL's Jessica Pattison gave the Cajuns the lead for good with a kill.

The Cajuns lead was 29-26 before a kill from Buchi Okoh and a service ace by Nikki Perry pulled Lamar within 29-28. Pattison ended the game on the next serve with another kill.

In game two, Louisiana snapped a 12-12 tie with three unanswered points and led by as many as five points late in the game.

The Cardinals would fight back to tie the game 29-29. Back-to-back kills from Webre and Salomaki gave the Cajuns their second victory of the match.

In game three, the Cajuns jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead and rallied from a 17-14 deficit to secure the sweep.

Trailing 17-15, Louisiana reeled of six consecutive points off the serve of Courtney Zimmer to take a 21-17 lead. Back-to-back kills by Tami Harvey and Hope Webre evened the score and an attack error by Okoh put the Cajuns in front 18-17.

Lamar made another late rally using a 5-1 run to forge a 28-28 tie through 56 points. Back-to-back kills from Erika Castro and Jessica Pattison ended the game and handed the Cajuns the match victory.

The Cajuns victory snapped Lamar's two-match win streak in the series.

Louisiana will conclude its current three-match homestand and return to Sun Belt Conference play on Saturday in a 7 p.m. match against South Alabama at Earl K. Long Gym.

LOUISIANA SI

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Louisiana returns to Sun Belt Conference play against South Alabama

LOUISIANA La. - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team returns to Sun Belt Conference action and concludes a three-match homestand Saturday as the squad hosts South Alabama at Earl K. Long Gym.

First serve is set for 7 p.m.

The Ragin' Cajuns (4-15, 0-5 Sun Belt) are coming off of a 3-0 (30-28, 31-29, 30-28) victory over Lamar Thursday evening. The victory snapped a six-match losing streak and was the first home win of the season.

Now, the Cajuns will look to build on the momentum and pick up the first conference win of the season.

Saturday's match will play a determining factor in the Cajuns hopes to reach the 2004 Sun Belt Tournament. The Cajuns, who trail eight-place Arkansas-Little Rock by three in the loss column, cannot afford another loss and need to start stringing together some wins to get back in the chase.

A victory on Saturday would keep UL in the running for a berth in the 2004 Sun Belt Tournament with nine league matches remaining on the schedule. It would also mark back-to-back victories for the first time since opening day.

Louisiana has won the last seven meetings against South Alabama at Long Gym and has won 14 of the last 15 meetings overall. The Cajuns have defeated the Jaguars in straight sets the last two meetings at Long Gym.

The Cajuns have continued to show signs of improved play during the homestand.

As a team, UL has registered 54 kills in the first two matches and tallied 89 and 75 digs respectively.

Thursday's match with Lamar was perhaps the most complete effort since defeating Illinois-Chicago on Sept. 17.

The Cajuns attack percentage was above .200 in each game and the squad showed great composure in winning each game by two points especially after the Cardinals rallied to force late ties in games two and three.

Louisiana's outside hitters, who struggled in the first four conference matches, continued to step up on Thursday. Elina Salomaki notched her third straight match with double-digit kills while Hope Webre reached double-digits for the second straight outing.

Webre, who averaged just 1.00 kill per game in the first four conference matches, has averaged 3.29 per game during the homestand.

Salomaki has recorded a double-double in both matches on the homestand totaling 25 kills and 26 digs in the two matches combined.

The Cajuns defense has placed four players in double-digit digs the past two outings. Hollie Girouard pushed her streak of double-digit dig outings to five after a career-high 25 against Lamar.

USA (1-9, 1-3 SBC) is coming off its first victory of the season last Sunday, a 3-2 (23-30, 27-30, 37-35, 30-24, 15-13) road victory against Florida International and its first five-game match of the season.

Freshman Whitney Sanders leads the Jag offense with 3.11 kills per game.

USA will also look to senior Morgan Flarity (2.79 kills per game) and freshman Jenna Swilley (2.21 kills per game). Freshman Shannon VanAntwerp leads the team with 2.53 digs per game.

Following Saturday's match, the Ragin' Cajuns will conclude non-conference play on Tuesday, Oct. 12 as the squad travels to Houston, Texas, to meet Rice University in a 7 p.m. match.

Louisiana's next home match will be its final home outing of October. The Cajuns will host Florida International on Thursday, Oct. 14 in a 7 p.m. match.

LOUISIANA SI

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Louisiana-Lafayette enters the match on a two-match win streak

HOUSTON - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team takes a break from Sun Belt Conference action and finishes out non-conference play here Tuesday evening in a match against Rice University.

First serve is set for 7 p.m. at Autry Court on the Rice University campus.

The Ragin' Cajuns (5-15) enter the match on a two-match winning streak after posting straight set sweeps of Lamar and South Alabama in the final two matches of last week's three-match homestand.

UL Lafayette will face a stern challenge in attempting to extend its win streak to three in a row. No team this season has gone into Autry Court and won a single game of a match.

The host-Owls (16-2) are riding a nine-match win streak overall and are undefeated on their home court. As a team, Rice averages 16.59 kills per game, 15.02 assists per game, 16.92 digs per game and 2.80 blocks per game.

Rice, receiving votes in the USA Today/CSTV Top 25 poll, is currently ranked No. 26 in the latest poll released on Monday.

Louisiana-Lafayette received a needed confidence booster on its recent homestand and hopes the improved play can carry over into this week.

As a team, the Ragin' Cajuns finished the homestand averaging 15 kills, 20.7 digs and 2.7 blocks per game. The Cajuns are coming off of back-to-back matches with attack percentages above .200.

Elina Salomaki continued her improved play, tallying a double-double in all three matches last week. The junior outside hitter averaged 3.6 kills and 3.8 digs per game in helping the Cajuns register their first home victory and first conference victory of the season.

The Ragin' Cajuns offer a balanced attack with Elina Salomaki leading the way with 2.73 kpg. Jessica Patterson and Hope Webre are next with 2.27 and 2.25 kpg, respectively.

Defensively the Cajuns have been getting solid outings from libero Hollie Girouard. Girouard has reached double-figures in digs in the last six outings and averaged 5.6 per game in last week's homestand.

Rice has been carried by offensively by Rebeca Pazo (4.54 kills per game) and Lindsey Carter (3.40 kills per game). The defense has been paced by Tessa Kuykendall (1.59 blocks per game) and Yvette Kirk (3.54 digs per game).

The Owls have been perfect at home this year, winning all eight matches in 3-0 decisions. At Autry Court, the squad is averaging 18.38 kills per game on .318 hitting, while limiting their foes to just 10.92 kpg and .079 hitting.

Rice leads the all-time series 3-0. The two teams last met on Sept. 6, 2002, with the Owls posting a 3-0 (30-25, 30-22, 30-24) victory at Autry Court in a match that was part of the Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational.

Following Tuesday's match, the Ragin' Cajuns will return to Earl K. Long Gym on Thursday, Oct. 14 for the final home match of October. The Cajuns meet Sun Belt foe Florida International (1-14, 0-5 Sun Belt) in a 7 p.m. match which jumpstarts a stretch of nine straight Sun Belt matches to finish the regular season.

LOUISIANA SI

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Louisiana hosts Florida International for the final home match of October

LOUISIANA La. - Louisiana's Lady Cajuns volleyball team opens the stretch run of the 2004 Sun Belt Conference volleyball season here Thursday night in a 7 p.m. match against Florida International at Earl K. Long Gym.

The match begins a stretch of nine straight Sun Belt matches to finish the regular season as the Ragin' Cajuns make their push for a spot in the 2004 Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

Louisiana-Lafayette (5-16, 1-5 Sun Belt) enters the match on a two-match win streak at Long Gym after back-to-back sweeps of Lamar and South Alabama last week.

Thursday's match will be the final home match for UL Lafayette in the month of October and final one before an upcoming seven-day layoff.

The Cajuns will look to get back on the winning track after dropping a three-game match at Rice University on Tuesday.

UL Lafayette enters the match trailing eighth-place Arkansas-Little Rock by one-half game in the race for a spot in the conference tournament. A win would be critical as the conference season nears the halfway point.

The Cajuns rely on the balanced attack provided by Elina Salomaki (2.70 kpg), Jessica Pattison (2.24 kpg), Hope Webre (2.23 kpg), Kim Rodgers (1.89 kpg) and Stacy Liverett (1.69 kpg).

Louisiana-Lafayette has fared well at home as of late. During last week's homestand, the Cajuns averaged 15 kills, 21 digs and nearly three blocks per game.

FIU (1-14, 0-5 Sun Belt) has lost nine consecutive matches and is winless on the road this season. The Golden Panthers haven't gone down without a fight, though, as the team has won at least one game in six of the nine matches

FIU's offense is paced by Anna Dmowksa who averages 3.19 kills per game. She has led the team in kills each of the last three weeks and has averaged 4.00 kills per game the last two weeks.

The Golden Panthers have been hurt by attack errors more than anything this season. FIU averages nearly eight per game while the opposition is at five per game.

Thursday's match will be the ninth meeting all-time between the two schools. Louisiana-Lafayette holds a 6-2 edge and has won all four meetings at Long Gym.

The home team has won the last five meetings.

Following Thursday's match, the Ragin' Cajuns will take the weekend off and then return to action on Friday, Oct 22 in Jonesboro, Ark., against Arkansas State for the opening match of a four-match road swing.

LOUISIANA SI

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JONESBORO, Ark. — Louisiana’s Lady Cajun volleyball team puts its two-match conference win streak on the line here today in a 7 p.m. match against Arkansas State at the Convocation Center.

The match marks the first of four straight road matches for the Ragin’ Cajuns (6-16, 2-5 Sun Belt) over the next eight days. The Cajuns visit Arkansas-Little Rock Saturday before closing out the road swing next Friday and Saturday at South Alabama and New Orleans respectively.

Louisiana enters Friday’s match with ASU (18-6, 5-2 Sun Belt) having won its last two Sun Belt Conference outings with wins over South Alabama and Florida International.

In the last outing, the Cajuns defeated FIU 3-2 (24-30, 30-23, 30-25, 22-30, 15-9) last Thursday. UL Lafayette has been off since then, a span of seven straight days, having time to rest up for the stretch run.

Today’s match, along with Saturday’s contest at nemesis Arkansas-Little Rock, will be critical in the Cajuns’ chase for a berth in the 2004 Sun Belt Tournament. The Cajuns enter the weekend trailing UALR and North Texas by one game for the eighth and final spot. North Texas plays UALR Friday and ASU Saturday.

UL has seen improved play since the calendar turned over to October.

The Lady Cajuns have won three of their last four outings averaging 13.5 kills, 15.6 digs and 2.0 blocks per game while posting a hitting percentage of .181

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MOBILE, Ala. — Louisiana’s Lady Cajuns volleyball team rallied from a 2-0 deficit here Friday evening to post a 3-2 (25-30, 28-30, 30-28, 30-20, 15-13) victory over South Alabama at Jaguar Gym.

The win snapped the Cajuns’ 13-match road losing streak in Sun Belt play and was the squad’s first road win in Sun Belt play since defeating South Alabama 3-1 on Nov. 3, 2002.

Elina Salomaki posted a career-high 25 kills to lead the Ragin’ Cajuns’ efforts. Salomaki also had 13 digs as she posted her seventh double-double of the season.

UL (7-18, 3-7 Sun Belt) notched team season-highs for kills (72) and assists (65) as the squad completed the season sweep of the Jaguars and defeated USA for the 16th time in the last 17 meetings.

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Volleyball hosts NMSU

LOUISIANA La. — Louisiana’s Lady Cajun volleyball team is close to having its chances expire in terms of a spot in the Sun Belt Tournament.

The Cajuns (7-20, 3-9 Sun Belt) are still alive, but have little room for error and need cooperation from any team playing either North Texas or Denver.

One more loss by UL and the postseason dream will end.

Two spots remain up for grabs, but the Cajuns trail both NT and DU by two games with just three matches left in the season and the squad does not have the advantage in terms of tiebreaker situations.

The task is even tougher, with Louisiana hosting four-time Sun Belt West Division champion New Mexico State (24-2, 12-0 Sun Belt) in a 1 p.m. match today at Earl K. Long Gym. The Aggies enter the contest riding a 13-match win streak, one which began with a 3-0 win over UL on Oct. 1 in Las Cruces, N.M.

The Cajuns would enjoy nothing more than to play spoiler in the Aggies’ attempt to become the first Sun Belt school to post back-to-back unbeaten conference records since Arkansas State did so in the 1995 and 1996 seasons.

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LOUISIANA La.— The University of Louisiana Lady Cajun volleyball team begins the final weekend of its 2004 season tonight against Sun Belt West Division travel partner North Texas at Earl K. Long Gym. First serve is set for 7 p.m.

The Cajuns (7-21, 3-10 Sun Belt) will be looking to stop a pair of losing streaks and play spoiler in North Texas´ attempts to better its seeding for the upcoming Sun Belt Tournament.

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[snote]

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette accepted the resignation of head women's volleyball coach Becky Madden on Wednesday. Madden had served in that capacity since being hired to the post on July 24, 2002.

Madden compiled a 28-59 (.322) record in three seasons leading UL
volleyball.

"We regrettably accept Coach Madden's resignation and wish her luck in future endeavors," stated UL athletics director Nelson Schexnayder.

"A full search for a new volleyball coach will begin immediately,"
Schexnayder added.

No timetable has been set for hiring a new coach.

from SID

[DaddyCajun]

KATC stated tonight she left to go coach the recently vacated position at ESA High School!! We have to get football going so we can pay our coaches SOMEWHAT MORE!!


Just a thought,
DaddyCajun

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The Episcopal School of Acadiana volleyball job didn't stay open very long, and now it's the University of Louisiana that has a position to fill.

UL volleyball coach Becky Madden takes her three years of experience as head coach of the Ragin' Cajuns, eight years of collegiate head coaching and 14 years of college experience to the legendary ESA program.

"I wasn't out there looking for a job," said Madden, "although for the last five years, in the back of my mind, I'd been thinking about transitioning into high school. But it had to be a good opportunity."

That opportunity presented itself late last week when Ursula Quoyeser stepped down after a historic 11 years as coach of the Lady Falcons. Nine of a national-record 16 straight state Division V titles came under Quoyeser, whose team also reached the state finals two years ago and the semifinals last fall.

"I knew I didn't want just any high school position," said Madden, "and this really was the opportunity of a lifetime. Something like this probably would never have come up again ... it was great timing, a great situation, a great volleyball program and a great school. Everything kind of fell into place."

Madden informed UL officials and her team of her decision Tuesday.

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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com