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