University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
UT Pan American
Ragin' Cajuns To Open 2013 Season On Friday In Houston
8/29/2013 5:27:00 PM | Volleyball
Louisiana to play 13 of first 16 games on road
Weekly Notes
HOUSTON – The Louisiana volleyball team officially opens its 2013 season on Friday (Aug. 30) when it begins action in the Marriott Houston Westchase Classic, hosted by Houston Baptist and played at Sharp Gym.
The Ragin' Cajuns (16-16 in 2012) will open play on Friday at 4:30 p.m. against UT Pan American before returning to action on Saturday with a 9:30 a.m. match against host HBU and a 5 p.m. contest against Nebraska-Omaha.
Live statistics for all three matches, courtesy of HBU, can be found on the volleyball schedule page at RaginCajuns.com.
Bolstered by the return of 10 letterwinners and four starters, Louisiana will attempt to get out to a fast start under sixth-year coach Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot as the Ragin' Cajuns play 13 of their first 16 matches on the road.
"Our goal is to show what kind of team we are this year," Mazeitis-Fontenot said. "I think we're a fast-start team and we're a good finishing team and that's what my goal for this group is this season."
Returning to lead Louisiana on the court is Lavinia Tataran, who paced the Ragin' Cajuns at the net with 2.69 kills per set while playing a key cog on the back row with 2.18 digs. Kelly Wiesmann (2.13 k/s), Andrea Hole (1.97 k/s) and Tonice White (1.97 k/s) all return to a Louisiana squad that returns 72 percent of its offense.
Senior Taylor Meade (34), Hole (32) and Tataran (29) pace a Ragin' Cajun team that finished third in the Sun Belt Conference last season in service aces (162). At the net, White paced the Ragin' Cajuns with 73 blocks on the season while Caitlyn Auxilien finished seventh overall in the Sun Belt Conference with 4.02 digs per set.
Louisiana has posted a 22-7 record against the tournament field with the Ragin' Cajuns holding a 19-6 advantage in the all-time series against UTPA and a 3-1 lead on HBU.
After completing its first weekend of play, Louisiana will return to action on Tuesday (Sept. 3) when it visits Alcorn State in a 7 p.m. contest.
