Volleyball: Louisiana Earns Second-Place Finish At Georgia Tournament

Matt Sullivan, September 14, 2013

Ragin’ Cajuns back on the road next week at Ole Miss Rebel Classic

ATHENS, Ga. – Tonice White and Kaylee Nemeth recorded a team-high nine kills each and the Louisiana volleyball earned a second-place finish after posting a 25-20, 25-12, 25-19 victory over North Florida in the Benson Group Hospitality Invitational on Saturday at Stegeman Coliseum.

Earlier in the day, the Ragin’ Cajuns recorded a season-low .022 hitting percentage and hit into 10 team blocks in dropping a 25-13, 25-20, 25-15 decision to host Georgia.

Louisiana will return to action on Friday (Sept. 20) when it travels to Oxford, Miss., to compete in the Ole Miss Rebel Classic. The Ragin’ Cajuns will open the tournament against Chattanooga on Friday at 4:30 p.m., before facing Southern Miss (2 p.m.) and host Ole Miss (7 p.m.) on Saturday (Sept. 21).

LOUISIANA 3, NORTH FLORIDA 0
White and Nemeth combined to hit .400 at the net as Louisiana (8-3) earned its third second-place finish in as many tournaments this season. Lavina Tataran added eight kills for the Ragin’ Cajuns while Andrea Hole posted a double-double with 30 assists and 15 digs.

Caitlyn Auxilien led Louisiana with 16 digs while Taylor Meade added 11. Freshman Chanelle Gardner recorded five blocks for the Ragin’ Cajuns, who posted five of their nine team blocks in the first set while holding UNF (3-7) to a .066 hitting percentage.

Anna Budinska led UNF with nine kills.

GEORGIA 3, LOUISIANA 0
Nemeth led Louisiana in its contest with the host Bulldogs with eight kills, but Georgia (7-1) opened the match with a .316 hitting percentage before posting a .308 average in the second set to claim the first-ever meeting between the schools.

Hole posted a double-double for the Ragin’ Cajuns with 26 assists and a team-high 14 digs while Auxilien added 12 digs. Tataran added seven kills for Louisiana with White chipping in with six.

Three players – Tirah Le’au, Brittany Northcutt and Stacey Smith – each recorded six kills for Georgia, which finished with a .220 hitting percentage. Kaylee Kehoe posted 17 digs for the Bulldogs while Allison Summers led all players with 17 digs.

BENSON GROUP HOSPITALITY INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP: Brittany Northcutt – UGA
Best Libero: Allison Summers – UGA
Kaylee Kehoe: Georgia
Sara Mossakowski: Louisiana
Chanelle Gardner: Louisiana
Olivia Humphries: UNCG
Anna Budinska: North Florida