Volleyball: Mazeitis-Fontenot builds a winner in UL volleyball team

Eric Narcisse, Daily Advertiser, Nov. 15, 2012

When UL head vol­leyball coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot ac­cepted the challenge of rebuilding the Ragin’ Cajuns program, she did so with the utmost confi­dence that not only would she succeed but eventu­ally build a program that the community could be proud of.

Although they remain a work in progress, the Ragin’ Cajuns program are without question in better shape today than prior to Mazeitis-Fon­tenot’s arrival.

 

“It’s been a joy to see the progress that we’ve made,” Mazeitis-Fontenot said. “I knew I was going to come in and do all that I could to turn it around and make this program great. We’re not done yet. We’re not where I think we can be, so I believe we still have a long way to go.”

 

In five seasons, Maze­itis-Fontenot has trans­formed the Ragin’ Ca­juns program from a conference pushover to a formidable opponent that must be taking seriously set by set and that was never more evident than this season in which the Cajuns went 16-15 overall and earned a No. 7 seed in the Sun Belt Confer­ence Tournament.

 

“I’m really proud of my team for what they’ve accomplished this sea­son, but we still have so much left to accomplish,” said Mazeitis-Fontenot, who is only the second Ragin’ Cajuns coach to lead UL to multiple con­ference tournament ap­pearances joining Chris Campbell who accom­plished the feat three times from 1999-2001. “I feel like we’re a program now that is competitive at the top of our conference and our goal is to make winning a tradition and an expectation here.”

 

UL will face No. 2­seeded Troy at 12 p.m. to­day at E.A. Diddle Arena on the campus of West­ern Kentucky for the first round of the tournament, which marks the ninth appearance in the pro­gram’s history and the second in three years.

 

“I feel like we are bet­ter than a No. 7 seed, but we didn’t prove it on the court,” Mazeitis-Fontenot said. “So, I don’t know if we’re better than our seed, but I do know we’re going to go out and give it everything we have against Troy.” A higher seed may have been in order for UL if they could have been able to pull out a couple of the matches that went to a fifth set. The Ragin’ Cajuns were 0-7 on the year in matches that went to a fifth set.

 

“If you look at it, we could have very easily been 23-8 and not 16-15 if we win those fifth set matches,” Mazeitis-Fon­tenot said. The Ragin’ Cajuns have won a first-round match at the conference tournament four times, most recently in 2001 when they knocked off Arkansas Little Rock in four sets, but they like their chances of advanc­ing as they’ll face an opponent in Troy that they’ve already defeated this season in four sets on the road.

 

“Troy finished the sea­son second overall in the conference and we beat them,” Mazeitis-Fontenot said. “North Texas won our side of the confer­ence and we lost to them in five. This is our time to push our program to the next level.” While the Ragin’ Ca­juns have experienced success in the opening round of the tournament, UL has yet to win a sec­ond round a match.

 

“The program has never won a second round match and that’s what it is about for me,” Mazeitis-Fontenot said. “Winning when you get there is a huge step in my opinion and I can’t even tell you what it would feel like to advance to the second round. It gives me chills just to think about it.”

Follow assistant sports edi­tor Eric Narcisse on Twitter @tdanarcisse.