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Volleyball: Cajuns Rise To Occasion; Earn Sweep OF UALR For 19th Win & SBC Tournament BerthCajuns will be the No. 6 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament that begins on Thursday in Troy, Ala. … will face No. 3-seeded Texas State at 2:30 p.m. with winner playing either No. 2 seed UALR or No. 7 seed Arkansas State … Story, box score and tournament bracket are attached
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 17, 2013
CAJUNS RISE TO THE CHALLENGE; EARN SWEEP OF UALR FOR 19TH WIN
LAFAYETTE On a day that saw the final appearance of the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns four-member senior volleyball class, it was a first-year starter that made sure they would go out on a positive note.
Sara Mossakowski recorded 11 of her career-high 19 kills in a decisive fourth set and the Ragin Cajuns earned a season-sweep of UALR for the second time in three seasons with a dramatic 25-22, 25-21, 13-25, 25-21 Sun Belt Conference victory Sunday afternoon at Earl K. Long Gym.
The win for Louisiana (19-13, 9-9 Sun Belt) marked the first time the Cajuns since finishing 19-15 in 1995 that the Cajuns reached the 19-win plateau, while its nine victories in league play was the second-highest total trailing an 11-5 record in 2000.
Louisiana, which will enter next week s Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Troy, Ala., as the No. 6 seed, will face third-seeded Texas State (21-12) in a 2:30 p.m. contest on Thursday (Nov. 21) at Trojan Arena.
The senior quartet of Lavinia Tataran, Tonice White, Taylor Meade and Kristen Armstrong each played key roles against UALR (20-10, 12-6 Sun Belt) and finished their regular-season careers at Louisiana with the most wins (66) of any class since 1998.
Tataran notched her ninth double-double of the season with 14 kills and 11 digs for Louisiana, while igniting a Ragin Cajuns squad with three service aces in a 4-0 span to close out the opening set. White, coming off a career-best 22-kill performance on Friday against UT Arlington, had eight kills, five digs and a solo block for the Ragin Cajuns while Meade and Armstrong each posted critical aces.
Mossakowski, who posted a minus-.117 hitting percentage (3-5-17) in the first two frames, found her form in the third set with five kills before taking over in the fourth. The sophomore knocked down back-to-back kills to give Louisiana an early 3-1 lead and added three tie-breaking kills, including the last that gave the Cajuns a 16-15 lead.
UALR, which dropped its third straight match, tied the contest at 18-18 on a kill by Rachel Williams before Tataran gave Louisiana the lead for good with a kill on the ensuing serve. Meade followed with an ace the 168th of her career that landed just inside the back line for a 20-18 advantage forcing the Trojans to call their final timeout.
Edina Begic, the Sun Belt leader in kills per set (5.24), closed the gap for UALR to 21-19 with one of her team-high 16 kills before a kill by White and three kills by Mossakowski gave Louisiana its sixth win over the Trojans in the last eight meetings, including four straight at home.
UALR built a 9-4 lead in the opening set and led 20-16 after Carolee Dillard blocked an attempt by Chanelle Gardner, forcing Louisiana to call its second timeout of the frame. The Trojans led, 22-20, on a kill by Adisa Hodzic but the Ragin Cajuns responded as a kill by White, an ace by Tataran and an attack error by UALR s Sonja Milanovic gave Louisiana a 23-22 lead.
Tataran kept up her serving rhythm after an UALR timeout as she closed out the set with back-to-back aces and setting the tone for the remainder of the match.
Both teams traded points in the second set before Louisiana surged ahead for good as kills by White and Tataran along with an attack error by Begic gave the Cajuns a 10-7 lead. UALR trailed 19-14 but rallied as a kill by Williams opened a 4-0 run. Begic followed with one of her three aces for the Trojans before Milanovic posted a kill and combined with Dillard on a block that closed the gap to 19-18.
But after Mossakowski stopped the a potential UALR tie with a kill, Gardner halted a second potential deadlock with a kill before attack errors by Hodzic and Milanovic gave Louisiana a 23-20 lead. Kelly Wiesmann and Tataran would eventually give the Cajuns a two-set advantage with kills after UALR closed to within 23-21.
Andrea Hole dished out a match-high 47 assists for Louisiana and added 10 digs for her 17th double-double of the season while Caitlyn Auxilien matched Tataran with a team-high 11 digs. Mossakowski added a pair of aces as the Cajuns racked up seven in the match and finished the regular-season with a league-high tying 150.
Milanovic added 14 kills, nine digs and four blocks for UALR, which posted 16 team blocks in the match. Dillard led the Trojans with 11 blocks, including one solo, while Marleen de Zoete and Begic posted four each. Kelsey Leech led all players with 13 digs while de Zoete dished out 40 assists.
– Ragin Cajuns –
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