Volleyball: Trio of Ragin’™ Cajuns Receive Sun Belt Volleyball Player of the Week Awards

The group played a key factor in extending Louisiana’s best start since 2014

LAFAYETTE – After leading the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Volleyball team to a two-match sweep of South Alabama which extended the program’s best start since 2014, seniors Hali Wisnoskie and Avery Breaux plus freshman Taylor Gates were named Sun Belt Conference Players of the Week in a vote by the league’s head coaches and released by the conference office on Tuesday.

 

Hali Wisnoskie

Avery Breaux

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Taylor Gates

Wisnoskie was named the SBC Offensive Player of the Week on the strength of registering at least 18 kills in both matches and averaging 6.5 kills per set on a .449 hitting percentage. The weekend began with her etching her name in the program’s record books, when her second kill of Friday’s contest handed her the rally scoring era record for career kills.
 
Wisnoskie willed the Ragin’ Cajuns to a commanding 2-0 match lead on Saturday by firing off 18 kills on 31 error-free swings (.581) over the first two stanzas combined, to all but secure the weekend sweep. She wound up with a new season-high of 21 kills on a season-best .452 hitting percentage.
 
Breaux, named the SBC Setter of the Week, averaged at least 11 assists per set for the second consecutive weekend. She directed Louisiana’s offense to 13.8 kills per set on a .308 hitting percentage during the pair of straight set sweeps of USA.
 
Breaux handed out 30-plus helpers in both matches, capped off by her second double-double of the season with 32 assists and 10 digs on Saturday.
 
Gates was awarded the Sun Belt’s Freshman of the Week honor after netting her first collegiate match of multiple kills and setting a season-high total twice. Her 14 total kills during the USA series were the second-most recorded by a Ragin’ Cajun.
 
In her first full weekend at right side hitter, Gates found the floor five times off 16 swings and followed up with nine kills off 17 swings at a .412 hitting percentage on Saturday including three timely kills which wrapped up the 2-0 match lead.
 
Wisnoskie collected her fifth career Sun Belt weekly award, adding to a trio of Freshman of the Week awards in 2017 and Offensive Player of the Week last Nov. 11.
 
For Breaux and Gates, it marked their first career weekly honor from the conference office.
 
The USA performances vaulted both Breaux and Wisnoskie in the No. 1 spot in the national statistical rankings for assists per set and kills per set, respectively.
 
Louisiana stays at home for a third consecutive weekend for a pair of matches with Lamar on Saturday, Sept. 19 at Earl K. Long Gym. Match times are set for 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
 
The contests with the Cardinals mark the Ragin’ Cajuns final non-conference matches prior to the start of Sun Belt Conference play Sept. 25-26 at Little Rock.