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VOLLEYBALL: Gardner, Ragin’ Cajuns Power Past ChattanoogaContact: Matt Sullivan (985) 981-0009; matt.sullivan@louisiana.edu
GARDNER, RAGIN CAJUNS POWER PAST CHATTANOOGA
OXFORD, Miss. Freshman Chanelle Gardner posted career-highs with 17 kills and eight blocks and the Louisiana volleyball team rallied after dropping the first set to claim a 24-26, 25-19, 25-18, 25-19 victory over Chattanooga on Friday in the Ole Miss Rebel Classic at the Gillom Sports Center.
Gardner, a former St. Martinville High product, led four players in double figures in kills as Louisiana (9-3) hit .277 for the match and recorded nine service aces. Chattanooga, which earlier edged Southern Miss in a five-set thriller, fell to 1-13 on the season.
Louisiana will return to action on Saturday when it faces Southern Miss (9-5) in a 2 p.m. contest before closing out the two-day event against host Ole Miss (8-3) at 7. Live statistics for both matches can be accessed on the volleyball schedule page at www.RaginCajun.com along with a live video stream (subscription required) of the Ragin Cajuns match against the Rebels.
I m glad that we came out with a win tonight against a Chattanooga team that plays very hard and is a lot better than their record indicates, head coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot said. It was one of those matches were the points kind of dragged out, but our girls played hard and were able to meet the challenge. We wanted to use our middles (Gardner, Tonice White and Keylee Nemeth) a lot more in the game plan and they did what we wanted them to do.
Gardner, who hit .438 for the match in a career-best 32 attempts, collected four kills and a pair of blocks in the opening set that saw the teams fight through 14 ties and six lead changes. The Mocs led 23-21 in the opening set before Gardner posted a kill and teamed with Nemeth to block an attempt by Chattanooga s Briana Reid that tied the set at 23-23.
Kendall Sexton responded with a kill to give set point to the Mocs, but a service error by Julimar Alvarado knotted the set at 24-all, giving the Ragin Cajuns the advantage. On the following attack, Gardner missed wide for Louisiana and a kill by Sexton gave Chattanooga the opening set.
After that, it was all Louisiana as the Ragin Cajuns posted a .333 hitting percentage in the second set with Nemeth and Sara Mossakowski recording four kills each. The Ragin Cajuns build a 23-14 lead before the Mocs railed off five straight points to close to within 23-19 on a kill by Reid.
Nemeth stopped the Chattanooga rally on the ensuing serve with a kill before Mossakowski evened the match when she posted one of her career-high four aces close out the set.
The Ragin Cajuns came back in the third set, posting a .375 average at the net with Gardner leading the way with seven kills in 10 attempts. A kill by Mossakowski erased a 3-2 lead for Chattanooga before kills by Gardner, Nemeth and Mossakowski gave Louisiana a 6-3 lead. The Mocs closed to within 6-5 on an ace by Lauren Gainer, but Gardner and Nemeth each responded with kills for the Ragin Cajuns, who never looked back.
Gardner accounted for three of Louisiana s first four points in the fourth set as she recorded a pair of kills and added a block. The Ragin Cajuns built a 7-1 advantage before Chattanooga would eventually chip away at the lead. The Mocs closed to within 19-16 on a kill by Allie Davenport, but Mossakowski added a kill, Andrea Hole recorded an ace and Gardner combined with Mossakowski on a block to push the Louisiana lead to 22-16.
Mossakowski added 12 kills, eight digs and three blocks for Louisiana, which recorded nine team blocks in the match. White added a season-high tying 11 kills and hit .391 at the net for the Ragin Cajuns while Lavinia Tataran added 10 kills. Nemeth, who tied her season-high with 27 attempts at the net, added eight kills and a career-high five blocks for Louisiana.
Hole dished out a career-best 54 assists while adding 19 digs to record her fifth double-double of the season. Caitlyn Auxilien led all players with 23 digs while Taylor Meade added 13.
Reid led Chattanooga with 14 kills and 16 digs with Davenport (11 kills/12 digs) and Catherine Chason (29 assists/14 digs) each posting double-doubles.
To keep up with Ragin’ Cajun volleyball, visit RaginCajuns.com, follow Louisiana on Twitter @UL_Volleyball and on Facebook at Ragin’ Cajuns Volleyball.
– Ragin Cajuns –
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