Volleyball: Troy Controls Tempo of the Match, Collects Sweep of Louisiana

LAFAYETTE – With a steady and consistent attack Troy claimed a straight sets sweep (25-16, 25-19, 25-12) over Louisiana Volleyball on Saturday evening at Earl K. Long Gym.
 
The visiting Trojans (13-9, 6-5 Sun Belt) hit .240-plus each set, increasing the efficiency each frame. The Ragin’ Cajuns (11-8, 6-5 Sun Belt) couldn’t seem to get into a rhythm and were limited to single-digit kills totals in each set and a .083 match hitting percentage.
 
With decisive advantages in kills (38-25), digs (48-36) and aces (8-1) Troy was able to control the flow of the match and offset Louisiana’s advantage at the net (11-5 in blocks).
 
The loss was the fourth straight for the Ragin’ Cajuns and the first of the season in straight sets.
 
The Trojans won the offense-defense battle in the opening set as their 13-7 advantage in kills overcame the six blocks that the Ragin’ Cajuns threw up in the frame.
 
Louisiana appeared to be marching toward evening the match after back-to-back blocks, both involving Kara Barnes, extended the early second set lead to 6-3, then an ace from Hannah Ramirez opened an 8-4 lead.
 
The Ragin’ Cajuns led by as many as five points at 11-6, but then the Trojans bounced back with a 6-1 run to even the score. Louisiana regained the lead momentarily before a service error put the ball back in Troy’s hands and Julia Brooks delivered a kill and a block to secure the lead for good.
 
A pair of Kelsey Bennett kills kept the Ragin’ Cajuns comeback hopes alive, the latter trimming the Trojans’ lead to 21-18 before the visitors were able to close out the set.
 
Troy clinched the sweep at the service line with three aces in the early stages of the third set factoring into a quick 9-4 start. The Trojans wound up scoring six aces in the final stanza.
 
LEADING THE RAGIN’ CAJUNS
Bennett landed 10 kills off of her 33 swings in the contest. It marked her fourth straight match with double digits and 17th overall in the season’s 19 outings.
 
Emery Judkins hit above .300 for the second straight night, totaling seven kills off 20 swings against only one error (.300).
 
Cami Hicks and Barnes were dominant at the net once again as together they had a hand in each of the Ragin’ Cajuns’ 11 blocks. Hicks finished with a match-high six blocks (3 BS, 3 BA) while Barnes posted five (1 BS, 4 BA).
 
Wearing the libero jersey for the second straight night, Jordan Valley led all players in the match with 11 digs. Bennett contributed eight digs and Siena DeCambra added six digs.
 
DeCambra passed out 19 of the 22 assists after Louisiana made an early switch to the 5-1 attack.
 
UP NEXT
It’s the final two road matches of the season when Louisiana travels to the state of Arkansas from Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 28-30. The visits to Arkansas State and Little Rock mark the start of the second round of SBC West Division competition.
 
The Ragin’ Cajuns first stop is in Jonesboro on Thursday (Oct. 28) before the trip concludes on Saturday (Oct. 30) in Little Rock. Start time for both matches is 6 p.m.
 
Louisiana posted a clean sweep of the first round of SBC West Division play including a straight sets sweep of the Red Wolves and a four-set triumph over the Trojans at Earl K. Long Gym from Oct. 8-9.
 
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