Volleyball: Davis and Wisnoskie Honored by Sun Belt Conference

LAFAYETTE – Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Volleyball junior libero Sydney Davis was awarded Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors and freshman outside hitter Hali Wisonskie was named the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Week for matches played Sept. 11-17, the league office announced on Monday.
 
Davis earned her first career weekly honor from the SBC. Wisnoskie, who last week became the first Ragin’ Cajun to win the freshman of the week award since its inception in 2013, claimed the honor for the second straight week.
 
It’s the third consecutive week that the Ragin’ Cajuns had at least one representative on the list of weekly winners picked by the Sun Belt’s head coaches.
 
Davis scooped 20-plus digs twice, highlighted by a season-high 27 vs. Chicago State, on the way to piling up 70 and averaging 6.36 digs per set during the Chicago State Invitational. She averaged over 6.00 digs per set in all three matches in Chicago and captured match-high honors each time. 
 
In collecting the season-high 27 digs vs. CSU, Davis had at least seven in all three of the Cajuns set victories. On Saturday vs. Eastern Michigan, she led the charge on the back row as the Cajuns broke free from a tied match by posting 15 of her 24 digs.
 
"Sydney had the best weekend I’ve ever seen her play," Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Volleyball head coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot remarked. "She’s been coming along in terms of her understanding of her position, and in the last two weeks has made some great strides."
 
Wisnoskie delivered a pair of matches with a .400-plus hitting percentage and tallied a team-high tying 33 kills during the team’s stay in Chicago. She reached double digits in kills twice – both of the matches in which she recorded a hitting percentage above .400.
 
She was the Ragin’ Cajuns leader on offense in the win over EMU, firing off a match-high 16 kills at a .441 clip which marked her second-highest hitting percentage of the season. The Columbus, Texas, native exited the weekend in Chicago with an average of 3.00 kills per set on a .329 hitting percentage.
 
"Had it not been for learning experience vs. Wright State, she would have had an even greater weekend," Mazeitis-Fontenot stated. "Hali is really sowing up our role as our ‘killer’. Every team needs one, and right now she’s ours."
 
Louisiana begins Sun Belt Conference play Friday-Saturday, Sept. 22-23 on the Georgia road trip. The Ragin’ Cajuns meet Georgia Southern in Statesboro on Friday at 5:30 p.m. (CDT), then travel to Atlanta to face Georgia State on Saturday at 5 p.m. (CDT).
 
The Ragin’ Cajuns will return to Earl K. Long Gym the weekend of Sept. 29-30. There will be a block party on the gym’s lawn on Friday, Sept. 29 prior to the Sun Belt Conference home opener against Arkansas State highlighted by a free concert performed by Geno Delafose and French Rocking Boogie from 4:30-6:00 p.m.
 
For more information on Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Volleyball, as well as all of Ragin’ Cajuns Athletics, visit RaginCajuns.com. Fans can also follow along with the team on Facebook (/ULVolleyball), Twitter (@RaginCajunsVB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsVB).
 
2017 RAGIN’ CAJUNS VOLLEYBALL SUN BELT WEEKLY HONORS
Sept. 4 – Jessica Bartczyszyn (Setter of the Week)
Sept. 11 – Hali Wisnoskie (Freshman of the Week)
Sept. 18 – Sydney Davis (Defensive Player of the Week)
Sept. 18 – Hali Wisnoskie (Freshman of the Week)
 
RAGIN’ CAJUNS VOLLEYBALL ALL-TIME SUN BELT WEEKLY HONORS
Oct. 31, 1994           Nia Kiggundu
Sept. 18, 1995         Nia Kiggundu
Oct. 9, 1995             Nia Kiggundu
Sept. 9, 1996           Nia Kiggundu
Oct. 18, 1999           Priscilla Lima
Nov. 13, 2000          Amy Kraljev
Sept. 10, 2001         Clarice Laires
Sept. 24, 2001         Clarice Laires (Defensive)
Oct. 15, 2001           Janaina Gomes (Defensive)
Sept. 2, 2002           Clarice Laires (Defensive)
Sept. 23, 2002         Priscilla Lima (Defensive)
Oct. 14, 2002           Priscilla Lima (Defensive)
Nov. 4, 2002            Clarice Laires
Nov. 11, 2002          Clarice Laires (Defensive)
Nov. 3, 2003            Elina Salomaki
Nov. 3, 2003            Hollie Girouard (Defensive)
Sept. 24, 2007         Erika Castro (Defensive)
Aug. 31, 2009          Lindsay Brown (Defensive)
Sept. 20, 2010         Lindsay Brown (Defensive)
Sept. 27, 2010         Lindsay Brown (Defensive)
                                 Lesley Mirarchi
Oct. 21, 2013           Caitlyn Auxilien (Defensive)
Nov. 4, 2013             Andrea Hole (Setter)
Sept. 29, 2014         Andrea Hole (Setter)
Oct. 13, 2014           Andrea Hole (Setter)
Oct. 24, 2016           Nia Antoine
Sept. 4, 2017           Jessica Bartczyszyn (Setter)
Sept. 11, 2017         Hali Wisnoskie (Freshman)
Sept. 18, 2017         Sydney Davis (Defensive)
Sept. 18, 2017         Hali Wisnoskie (Freshman)