PRESS RELEASE
LAFAYETTE – Junior middle blocker Dree’Ana Abram and sophomore outside hitter Hali Wisnoskie represented Louisiana Volleyball on the 2018 Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference team, the conference office announced Monday morning.
The Ragin’ Cajuns were picked to finish third in the SBC West division standings.
The preseason All-SBC awards were voted on by the conference’s 12 head coaches. Abram and Wisnoskie were among the 12 players league-wide to receive recognition.
Abram, a returning first team All-Sun Belt selection, posted the first 100-plus blocks season by a Ragin’ Cajun since 2014 with a career-best 126 blocks last season. The Marshall, Texas native was dominant in Sun Belt play, posting at least four blocks in 10 of 16 matches and tallying double-digit points 10 times.
Wisnoskie is coming off a heralded freshman campaign in which she was a first team All-Sun Belt pick, SBC Freshman of the Year and represented Louisiana on the AVCA All-Southwest Region team. She led the Ragin’ Cajuns with 332 kills (2.89/set) on a .240 hitting percentage during the 2017 season.
The Ragin’ Cajuns (21-11, 13-3 SBC in 2017) are seeking to build upon the program’s finest season in the Sun Belt Conference era (1991-present). During the 2017 season, the squad raced out to a school-record 7-0 start in league play, posted the first winning conference mark since 2002 and set the school record for SBC wins. The reward was the program’s highest seed ever (No. 3) in the SBC Tournament.
Head coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot, preparing for the 11th season of her tenure, has a roster that features three returning All-Sun Belt Conference performers in Abram, libero Sydney Davis and Wisnoskie (2017 SBC Freshman of the Year).
Louisiana is slated to begin preseason practice on Wednesday, Aug. 8. The Ragin’ Cajuns host an exhibition vs. Houston Baptist on Saturday, Aug. 18 at 3 p.m. inside Earl K. Long Gym, then begin the 2018 campaign Friday-Saturday, Aug. 24-25 in New Orleans at Tulane’s I-10 Challenge.