Cajuns Come Up Short in Hard-Fought Battle With Sam Houston

Contact: Matt Hebert

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HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Up 2-1 in the fourth set, the Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team saw a late four-point lead slip away as Sam Houston State rallied to even the match then led throughout the fifth set to complete a come-from-behind 3-2 (14-25, 25-21, 25-27, 28-26, 15-11) win over UL in the 2012 season opener Friday evening Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.

The Cajuns (0-1) were leading 20-16 in the fourth set and five points shy of claiming the match. The Bearkats (1-0) rolled off a 7-2 run, benefitting from six UL attack errors, to grab a 23-22 lead.

Louisiana reached set-and match-point, taking a 26-25 lead on a Mandi Gavin ace. But a Gavin service error gave SHSU new life then Kim Black threw down a kill for the lead and Bridgette Bennett served up an ace to send the match to a fifth set.

UL scored first in the final set, only to have the Bearkats rattle off three straight points – all on kills – to reclaim the momentum. Sam Houston made only one attack error in 16 attempts in the final set, finishing with a 15-11 win.

The Cajuns stayed within one or two points throughout the fifth set, closing the gap to 10-9 on a Blair Claypoole kill. Trailing 12-10, a Claypoole service error and Devene Wells-Gibson ace gave the Bearkats a four-point cushion that stood.

"Tough battle,” head coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot remarked. “We must take better care behind the service line at crucial times in the match.

“The team knows it and this is only one match. Although we can't get it back, we can and will grow from it. "

Louisiana completes play in the 27^th Annual Sam Houston Volleyball Invitational on Saturday facing Pac-12 member Colorado at 10 a.m., and Texas Southern at 4 p.m.

The finals stats were proof of a hard-fought battle. SHSU held a slim edge in kills (61-60) and the two squads combined for 205 digs (SHSU 106, UL 99).

Lavinia Tataran posted a team-high 15 kills and also collected 20 digs for Louisiana. Sophomore Andrea Hole had a double-double herself, throwing down 14 kills and piling up 15 digs. Claypoole topped the Cajuns with a .297 average on the way to 13 kills.

Gavin, the Cajuns preseason All-Sun Belt selection, tallied 45 assists and posted a team-high four blocks. Sophomore libero Caitlyn Auxilien registered a career-high 34 digs, topping her previous best of 27 set Oct. 30 last season at UALR.

Four Bearkats totaled double figure kills. Wells-Gibson led the way with 19 kills. Tayler Gray was busy, dishing out 57 assists in addition to tallying 25 digs.

The match was split after two sets, each squad taking turns leading from wire-to-wire with the Cajuns taking a commanding 25-14 win in the opener and SHSU holding on for a 25-21 win in the second set.

On top 14-11 in the opener, UL produced an 11-3 run to coast to the set victory.

There were six ties in the third frame, but Louisiana never allowed SHSU to take a lead. The Cajuns led by as many as five points, 17-12, following up back-to-back Bearkats miscues with kills from Tatran and Tonice White to fuel a 4-1 run that broke open a 13-11 margin.

SHSU rallied fending off set point three times and extending the set past 25 points. Tied at 25-all, Tatran took a feed from Gavin for a kill and the lead. On the ensuing rally, White leaped up for a block solo off a Kendall Cleveland attack to record the winning tally.

For all of the latest news and information on Ragin' Cajuns Athletics, visit RaginCajuns.com. Fans can also follow the athletics department on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/ULRaginCajuns along with @ULRaginCajuns on Twitter.

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Cajuns Come Up Short in Hard-Fought Battle With Sam Houston

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Team Stats

Lavinia Tataran

Andrea Hole

Blair Claypoole

Mandi Gavin

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