Efficient Effort Carries UTA Past Louisiana

ARLINGTON, Texas – A .275 hitting percentage carried UT Arlington past the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns volleyball team 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-20) in the 2015 Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.

Louisiana (3-9, 0-1 Sun Belt) was limited to a .087 hitting percentage for the match, dropping their fourth straight outing.

UT Arlington (10-3, 1-0 Sun Belt) took advantage of a -.031 Cajuns hitting percentage in the second set to grab a 2-0 lead. The host-Mavericks then threw down 20 kills in the third set to complete the sweep.

The Ragin' Cajuns conclude the opening weekend of Sun Belt Conference play on Sunday, Sept. 20 meeting Texas State in San Marcos, Texas. First serve is set for Noon.

Sara Mossakowski returned to action after missing the Adidas Rice Invitational with a lingering back injury. She led the Cajuns with nine kills, the fifth time in as many starts this season she's reached the amount.

Chanelle Gardner added seven kills and led all Louisiana hitters with 10-plus attempts in hitting percentage at .353 (7 K, 1 E, 17 TA).

Stacey Reilly led all players in the match with 12 digs. She's now accrued double digits in digs in six of seven matches played this season.

The Mavericks finished with a 44-33 edge in kills, held a commanding 9.0-2.0 lead in blocks and hit above .230 each set. Qiana Canete paced the UTA offense with 12 kills.

UTA gained control early in the opening set, claiming the first four rallies. The Cajuns nearly came all the way back, cutting the deficit to 17-16 following a 6-1 run. However, a Canete kill and back-to-back Cajuns attack errors provided the Mavericks with breathing room at 20-16.

A fast start, beginning the second set with a 6-1 run, and the Cajuns inefficiency on offense led to a 25-14 win for the hosts in the second set.

Louisiana flipped the script in the third set, jumping out to an 8-3 lead. A block solo by Jessica Bartczyszyn broke a 3-all tie, then a pair of kills by Reilly capped off a 5-0 run.

UTA recorded six of the next seven points to forge a 9-all tie. The teams would swap scores through 15-all, then after an attack error by Gardner the Mavericks received two kills from Stacey Koch and one from Kaitlyn Granger to extend their lead to 19-15.

The Cajuns could draw no closer than three points the rest of the set. Leading 23-20, UTA clinched the match with kills from Hannah Baptiste and Canete.

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Team Stats

Sara Mossakowski

Chanelle Gardner

Stacey Reilly

Keely Hayes

Players Mentioned

Jessica Bartczyszyn

Chanelle Gardner

Sara Mossakowski

Stacey Reilly