The Book 2005-06 UL Lady Cajuns Volleyball

[NewsCopy]

RUSTON - The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team was clipped by Louisiana Tech in yet another five-game thriller here Tuesday night at the Thomas Assembly Center. La. Tech claimed the two-hour, 35-minute, marathon - the first meeting between the two schools in Ruston since Nov. 14, 1999 - 3-2 (32-30, 26-30, 30-27, 28-30, 20-18). Tuesday's match was the first road game for UL under the direction of coach Amy Kraljev. Just three nights removed from a five-game defeat to the Lady Techsters in the championship match of the Scott Clause Advertising Classic hosted by UL in Lafayette last Saturday, the Cajuns dropped the mid-week battle to Tech in almost similar fashion. This time it was the Ragin' Cajuns rallying from a 2-1 match deficit by taking the fourth game to force a fifth game. Like last Saturday, though, Tech rallied from a deficit in the fifth game to steal the match and hand the Cajuns another heartbreaking defeat. Tuesday's loss was harder to take for the Ragin' Cajuns (2-4). UL gave up a late lead in the fifth game and had several chances to finish off the Techsters. UL held a 14-10 lead in game five and needed only one more point to take the victory. Tech reeled off four straight points to force a tie and extend the game. The Cajuns had several chances to close out the Techsters, but could never get the decisive point. For the second straight meeting, the statistics showed just how evenly matched the two clubs are. Both teams posted over 100 digs. Louisiana Tech had 112 digs while UL tallied 106 digs. Tech held a 82-73 edge in kills, UL led blocks 11-8 and the team hitting percentages were .192 to .190 in favor of the Techsters. Individually, Elina Salomaki posted a double-double for the Cajuns as she registered 19 kills and collected 29 digs. Kim Rodgers was a close second with 15 kills. Erika Castro tallied a match-best 31 digs for the Ragin' Cajuns. Castro's dig total is the highest in program history during the rally scoring era. Tara Cote dished out a career-high 63 assists for UL. Tech received a match-high 25 kills from Shannon Phillips. The Lady Techsters had six players reach double digits in digs with Anielle Da Silva, Meghan Haas and Jillann Walker each piling up 19 digs. Louisiana returns to action this weekend as the squad travels to Tulsa, Okla., to participate in the Crowne Plaza Invite hosted by the University of Tulsa. The round robin tournament is scheduled for Friday-Saturday, Sept. 9-10. UL will face Tulsa at 7 p.m., on Friday in its tournament opener. LOUISIANA SI

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA La. – Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns volleyball team snapped a six-match losing streak by riding a balanced attack to a 3-0 (34-32, 30-23, 30-26) victory over South Alabama here Saturday evening at Earl K. Long Gym. All six position players each posted at least five kills for UL (4-12, 1-2 Sun Belt) which notched its first Sun Belt Conference win of the season. It was the first SBC victory for head coach Amy Kraljev. Louisiana defeated South Alabama for the 16th time in the last 17 meetings. Elina Salomaki led the Cajuns with a match-high 17 kills – her fifth straight double-digit performance and ninth overall this season. Jamara Saad added nine kills, Erika Castro had eight, Kim Rodgers posted seven and Liz Inman and Tara Cote each collected five kills to pace the balanced effort by the hosts. The Cajuns team hitting percentage was .248 (52 kills, 20 errors, 129 attempts). It marked the second straight match that UL posted a team hitting percentage above .200 (UL hit .220 in Friday’s match with Troy). UL’s serve receive was the difference in a match decided by only 13 total points. The Cajuns committed only two reception errors the entire match compared to eight reception errors by USA (6-12, 0-5 Sun Belt). The Cajuns jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the match and rallied from a 20-13 deficit in game three to complete the sweep. UL outscored USA 17-6 to make sure that there wasn’t any chance of a repeat of Friday’s performance with Troy. Trailing 23-19, UL scored five straight points off the serve of Saad to take a 24-23 lead. After a service error by Saad evened the scored, the Cajuns got back-to-back kills from Castro and Salomaki, respectively, to take a 26-24 lead. The Cajuns never lost the lead and completed the sweep. Game one was tightly contested. The score was tied 18 times and largest lead either team had was four points. UL led 21-17 only to see USA rally and cut the lead to 22-21. The Jaguars stayed within one or two points the rest of the way, and claimed the lead 32-31 on a block by Brittan Blackwelder and Katie Wilhelm. After a timeout, UL responded with three straight kills to take the 34-32 win. Cote ended the game with a quick dump into the back corner of the court out of the reach of the USA back row. Louisiana takes to the road for the next two matches. The Ragin’ Cajuns will be in Arkansas on Friday, Oct. 14 and Saturday, Oct. 15 taking on Arkansas State and Arkansas-Little Rock respectively. UL will face ASU on Friday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. LOUISIANA SI

[DaddyCajun]

Great, it must be the new Maple wood court advantage.

DaddyCajun!

[NewsCopy]

A star volleyball player in her homeland, Salomaki last represented Finland in the 2003 European Championships. But it's been years since she has called that Scandinavian nation home. She first left home for Australia, where she learned English and met future UL basketball center Chris Cameron - two crucial elements to her eventual arrival in south Louisiana. Shortly after she got here, UL coach Chris Campbell left for Mississippi University for Women and Salomaki followed - staying for a year before returning to the Cajuns. Now she's a senior helping newcomers to understand the challenges ahead. "I was in Australia for two years," Salomaki said. "It was kind of awkward at first because I couldn't speak the language. But it was a motivating thing, too. "My mom was OK with it. She let me go. I had expected to stay for six months and I stayed for two years. I had a good job, and had no reason to leave until I got the opportunity to go to college." By the time she got to Australia, Salomaki was tired of competitive athletics. "I had traveled a lot, had played for a lot of teams, and I was worn out," she said. "I did a lot of things in Sydney. I got into coaching and I started to miss it. I couldn't help it." Meeting Cameron helped shape Salomaki's future. "I had quit, and Chris kept pushing me to play again," Salomaki said. "Now we're both playing our senior years here. Chris is a good friend of mine, and having him here makes me feel at home." She also feels a connection with her younger teammates. "I love the freshmen," Salomaki said. "They're like little sisters, and I'm very protective of them. We're all like sisters. We're very close." The rest of the story Bruce Brown bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[Turbine]

Wish I could say I saw a win but I did see a hard fought game

[DieHard1280]

Wish I could say I saw a win but I did see a hard fought game

Who needs the Ragin Jazz when you can go watch a volleyball match. Wouldn't you love to be in the middle of that huddle??!! You gotta love volleyball shorts!

GEAUX CAJUNS!!!!!!!!!!

[JMV JustMyView]

Who needs the Ragin Jazz when you can go watch a volleyball match. Wouldn't you love to be in the middle of that huddle??!! You gotta love volleyball shorts!

GEAUX CAJUNS!!!!!!!!!!

I second that..

[Turbine]

Volleyball is non stop action. Think we will ever see a Lady Cajun on an Olympic team?

[cajunvbmom]

I'm a proud Mom of a VB player...this is our first year..it's been a tough season so far but I have confidence this team will get it together and be a force to reckon with next year. Thank you for the photos...I live out of state and am not able to attend the games on a regular basis. I will be in Louisiana for the last two home games...hopefully we'll have a packed house.

[NewsCopy]

TROY, Ala. – Louisiana’s Lady Cajuns volleyball team took the first step toward getting back into the Sun Belt Conference Tournament picture by collecting a 3-1 win at South Alabama on Friday. The win improved the Ragin’ Cajuns’ Sun Belt Conference mark to 2-6 – the exact record of Troy University, whom the Cajuns will face here on Sunday at 1 p.m., in Trojan Arena. Both teams are tied for the eighth and final slot in the race for a spot in the SBC Tournament. Now, the Cajuns (5-16, 2-6 Sun Belt) take aim at leapfrogging the Trojans (9-10, 2-6 Sun Belt) and into sole possession of that eighth spot. Following Sunday’s match, only two weekends remain in Sun Belt play. UL and Troy will be meeting in Trojan Arena for the first time. The Cajuns have a score to settle with the Trojans following an earlier meeting this season at Earl K. Long Gym in Lafayette. UL held a 2-0 lead in the match before Troy rallied for a 3-2 (25-30, 25-30, 32-30, 30-28, 15-11) victory which currently allows the Trojans to be in a tie with the Cajuns. UL is in search of its first Sun Belt Conference Tournament bid since the 2002 season. A win over Troy would give the Cajuns a sweep of the Alabama road trip and the two wins the squad needed to have a chance to battle for a tournament seed down the stretch run. On Friday, UL opened its Alabama road trip in Mobile, Ala., against South Alabama in Jag Gym. The Cajuns scored a 3-1 (26-30, 30-18, 30-27, 31-29) victory for their first win on the opponent’s home court this season (1-6). LOUISIANA SI