University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
10-3
Southern Miss
9-6
Ragin' Cajuns Earn Split At Ole Miss Rebel Classic
9/21/2013 9:42:00 PM | Volleyball
Louisiana rallies past USM in five-set thriller before falling to host Rebels
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Contact: Matt Sullivan
Game 1 Box (PDF) | Game 2 Box (PDF)
OXFORD, Miss. – Senior Lavinia Tataran recorded 13 kills and hit .345 at the net for the Louisiana volleyball team, but Ole Miss rallied from dropping the opening set and posted a 20-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-14 victory over the Ragin' Cajuns in the finale of the Ole Miss Rebel Classic on Saturday at the Gillom Sports Center.
In the opener, Tataran and Tonice White combined for 39 kills and a .440 hitting percentage and the Ragin' Cajuns rallied from a set down to defeat Southern Miss in a five-set marathon, 25-16, 22-25, 22-25, 25-22, 15-10.
Louisiana (10-4), which finished second overall in the four-team event, will return to action on Friday (Sept. 27) when it opens Sun Belt Conference play at league newcomer Texas State in San Marcos, Texas. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., at Strahan Coliseum. After facing Texas State, the Ragin' Cajuns will travel to face UT Arlington on Saturday (Sept. 28) in a 7 p.m. contest.
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OLE MISS 3, LOUISIANA 1
Louisiana claimed the first set by hitting .515 overall (21-4-33), but was limited to .105, .057 and .103 in the final three sets to fall to host Ole Miss (10-3). Sara Mossakowski added 10 kills for the Ragin' Cajuns while Andrea Hole posted 38 assists and 10 digs.
Ty Laporte led a balanced attack for Ole Miss with 10 kills. Kara Morgan added nine kills for the Rebels, who hit .319 for the contest, with Melanie Crow adding eight and the tandem of Marie-Pierre Bakima and Nakeyta Clair chipping in with seven apiece.
Ole Miss opened the match hitting .480 (12-0-25) from the floor before hitting .250 and .222 in the next two sets. The Rebels put the match away in the fourth set hitting .391 (11-2-23) with Morgan leading the way with three kills.
Edie Aubrey led Ole Miss with 33 assists and Kristen Brasher paced the team with 14 digs. Crow added three blocks for Ole Miss, which
White, who joined Hole on the all-tournament team, added eight kills for Louisiana. Kaylee Nemeth and Chanelle Gardner had six kills each for the Ragin' Cajuns with Gardner leading the team with three blocks. Caitlyn Auxilien led Louisiana with 14 digs.
LOUISIANA 3, SOUTHERN MISS 2
Led by career outings from Tataran, White and Hole, Louisiana's first five-set victory since beating former Sun Belt Conference rival FIU on Nov. 6, 2011 was one for the ages.
Tataran established career-bests in kills (21) and hitting percentage (.429) for Louisiana (10-3) and added 15 digs to record her third double-double of the season. White posted career-highs in kills (18) and solo blocks (4) while Hole dished out a career-best 63 assists and added 12 digs as the Ragin' Cajuns weathered through 37 ties and 16 lead changes before prevailing.
The Ragin' Cajuns hit a scorching .517 (16-1-29) from the floor in the opening set with Tataran leading the way with five kills while Sara Mossakowski had four kills in five attempts.
Louisiana outhit USM (9-6) in the second set, .263-.176, but three service aces by the Golden Eagles helped spark a 20-14 lead. The Ragin' Cajuns trailed 23-19 before cutting the lead to one after kills by Sara Mossakowski and Tataran along with back-to-back scores by Kaylee Nemeth. But USM's Elise Ames would play a part in the final two points for the Golden Eagles as she posted a kill and teamed with Stephany Purdue on a block to secure the set.
USM kept up its momentum into the third set hitting .325, its best mark of the match. But the Golden Eagles could not close out the match in the fourth as the trio of Tataran (5 kills), White (4 kills) and Mossakowski (4 kills) helped Louisiana hit .421 from the floor and force a fifth and deciding set.
In the fifth, White collected four kills in five attempts from the floor while Taylor Meade recorded a pair of crucial service aces in a 5-2 run that put the match away. Meade opened the decisive run for the Ragin' Cajuns with an ace before a kill by White and a second ace by Meade gave Louisiana a 10-6 lead.
Auxilien recorded 19 digs to lead Louisiana with Sara Mossakowski adding 14 kills and a career-best 13 digs.
Quinci Howard posted 17 kills to lead USM, which dropped its third straight match. Elise Ames added 15 kills for the Golden Eagles with Mary Pursell leading all players with 21 digs.
