LAFAYETTE – Louisiana Volleyball is set to make its official home debut of the Kristi Gray era on Tuesday, Sept. 21 when the squad hosts Lamar in a non-conference contest at Earl K. Long Gym. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
Admission to the match is FREE. E.K. Long Gym has returned to 100 percent capacity for the 2021 season (face coverings are required).
Louisiana (4-3) started off its first campaign under the leadership of Kristi Gray with a seven-match road trip that featured tournaments at Southern Miss and UTRGV.
The Lamar contest is the first of 10 matches that the Ragin’ Cajuns are hosting at E.K. Long Gym this fall. It’s also the start of a complete week at home for Louisiana which will host its first weekend of matches when Georgia State and Georgia Southern visit for the start of Sun Belt play from Sept. 24-25.
Tuesday’s matchup with Lamar (4-9) marks the first time the Ragin’ Cajuns step onto the court since competing in the UTRGV Tournament from Sept. 9-11. The team had an open weekend scheduled (Sept. 17-18) prior to its home debut.
The contest with the Cardinals is being streamed on ESPN+ [espn.com] with Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer Dan McDonald providing play-by-play commentary. Live stats will be available at CajunStats.com [statbroadcast.com].
NEXT SERVE
2021 Home Opener
Tuesday, Sept. 21 | Lafayette, La.
Earl K. Long Gym (1,121)
THE MATCHUP
vs. Lamar // Earl K. Long Gym // 6 p.m.
Match Notes (PDF): Louisiana [ragincajuns.com]
TV: ESPN+ [espn.com]
Live Stats: CajunStats.com [statbroadcast.com]
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsVB [twitter.com]
SET POINTS
- The 2021 season serves as the inaugural campaign for Louisiana with head coach Kristi Gray, who was hired on April 26 after five highly successful seasons at Odessa College.
- Tuesday's contest with Lamar marks the Ragin' Cajuns first official home match of the Kristi Gray era at Earl K. Long Gym.
- The Lamar matchup also kicks off a three-match homestand that continues Sept. 24-25 when Georgia State and Georgia Southern visit for the first Sun Belt Conference matches of the 2021 season.
- Louisiana is coming off a rare open weekend (Sept. 17-18), having last competed Sept. 9-11 at the UTRGV Tournament in Edinburg, Texas.
- Louisiana concludes non-conference play with the Lamar contest. Afterward, the remainder of the season will consist of Sun Belt matches only.
- Kelsey Bennett has emerged as the early leader of Louisiana's offense. Bennett is averaging 4.1 kills per set on a .283 hitting percentage.
- Kelsey Bennett has scored 20-plus kills in three of the last four matches. She scored a career-high 27 kills back on Sept. 9 at UTRGV.
- Newcomers Coco Gillett (2.8 kills/set) and Emery Judkins (2.2 kills per set) compliment Bennett on offense.
- Kara Barnes and Cami Hicks are back leading on the frontline, both having posted 20-plus blocks.
- The Ragin' Cajuns efforts are guided by first-year setters Siena DeCambra and Reka Kotorman following the switch to the 6-2 system at UTRGV.
- Louisiana hit .200-plus in six of the seven matches on the season-opening road trip. The squad's .262 hitting percentage is the top mark in the Sun Belt.
NUMBERS TO KNEAUX
6: Kelsey Bennett has posted six (6) double-doubles in the season's first seven matches. She's increased her career total to 24 double-doubles.
20: Sophomore middle blocker Kara Barnes totaled 20 blocks at a rate of 1.4 per set in the Ragin' Cajuns outing at the UTRGV Tournament.
13: The Ragin' Cajuns offense is generating 13.1 kills per set and have finished a match at or above the mark four times in seven outings.
UP NEXT
Louisiana continues its first homestand of the 2021 season and ushers in Sun Belt Conference play when Georgia State and Georgia Southern visit Earl K. Long Gym from Friday-Saturday, Sept. 24-25.
Both matches are slated to begin at 6:00 p.m. with live broadcast coverage available on ESPN+.
FOLLOW THE RAGIN' CAJUNSFollow the Ragin' Cajuns on Twitter (@RaginCajunsVB [twitter.com]), Facebook (/RaginCajunsVB [facebook.com]) or Instagram (@RaginCajunsVB [instagram.com]) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Volleyball.
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