Volleyball: Louisiana Bested by FIU in Three Sets
Written by Matthew Hebert (ULL Athletics)
Sunday, 01 November 2009 15:01
ULL News
www.ragincajuns.com – Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns volleyball team was unable to keep pace with the explosive FIU attack Sunday afternoon at Earl K. Long Gym and fell to the Golden Panthers in straight sets (25-12, 25-17, 25-21).
FIU (24-2, 14-0 Sun Belt) threw down 47 kills compared to only 19 for Louisiana (8-21, 2-12 Sun Belt). The Golden Panthers posted at least 15 kills in each set and hit above .300 in the first two sets.
The Ragin’ Cajuns were paced by Caroline Dufrene and Amie Goodwin with six kills each. Dufrene was errorless in 15 total attempts.
Four different Cajuns picked up at least five digs to offset libero Lindsay Brown being held to only four digs. Mandi Gavin collected a team-best six digs.
The Golden Panthers saw three players reach double figures in kills. Yarimar Rosa led the way with a match-high 14 kills on 26 attempts.
The top digger for FIU was Jovana Bjelica who tallied 12. Rosa added 11 digs to record a double-double.
Goodwin’s kill tally pushed her to 261 for the season, leaving her 39 shy of reaching 300 kills for the second time in her career (posted 340 as a freshman in 2007). She’s got four matches remaining to hit the 300 mark.
FIU coasted to a 25-12 victory in the opener after holding a 15-4 advantage in kills. The Golden Panthers stretched a 14-10 lead into double figures with points on six consecutive rallies.
Louisiana stayed close with FIU in the second set. There were three tied scores and one lead change.
UL jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to a pair of FIU attack errors. The Golden Panthers scored on four of the next five rallies to pull in front 4-3. A kill by Goodwin helped UL tie the score at 5-all, but the visitors countered with a kill from Isadora Rangel to take the lead for good.
The turning point in the set came on the 26th rally with FIU up 13-12. Rosa forced down three straight kills and Olga Vergun served up an ace to make it 17-12.
The Cajuns battled back from an early deficit in the third set to start a string of tied scores. Trailing 7-5, a block solo from Dufrene was followed by a Kendra Hall ace evened the score. Kills on successive rallies again – this time by Dufrene and Lesley Mirarchi – turned a 9-7 deficit into a 9-all tie.
Leading 11-10, the Golden Panthers turned the tide on the next three rallies. A Brown service error caused UL to lose serve and give FIU a 12-10 edge. What followed was kills from Vergun and Bjelica that pushed the FIU lead to 14-10.
The Cajuns never backed down, though, keeping the deficit to three or four points. UL drew within two points, 23-21, after a Goodwin ace. A kill by Rangel returned the serve to FIU and she ended the set and match with an ace of her own.
Louisiana, which has now dropped four straight matches after an upset win over New Orleans, will take to the road next week with matches at Denver (Saturday, Nov. 7) and North Texas (Monday, Nov. 9).
There’s only one home match remaining for UL and it will take place on Friday, Nov. 13. That night the Cajuns will battle Interstate 10 rival New Orleans at 7 p.m.
MATCH SUMMARY
FIU vs Louisiana (Nov 01, 2009 at Lafayette, La.)
Site: Earl K. Long Gym
Date: Nov 01, 2009 Attend: 171 Time: 1:15
FIU def. Louisiana 25-12,25-17,25-21
FIU (24-2, 14-0 Sun Belt) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Rosa, Yarimar 14-1-0; Rangel, Isadora 11-1-0; Bjelica, Jovana 10-1-2; Lakovic, Andrea 6-0-1; Valentin, Natalia 3-0-0; Vergun, Olga 3-1-1; Araujo, Chanel 0-2-0; Totals 47-6-3.0. (Assists) - Valentin, Natalia 35. (Dig leaders) - Bjelica, Jovana 12; Rosa, Yarimar 11; Araujo, Chanel 9; Valentin, Natalia 9
Louisiana (8-21, 2-12 Sun Belt) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Goodwin, Amie 6-1-0; Dufrene, Caroline 6-0-3; Gavin, Mandi 3-0-2; Krolikowski, Ariel 3-0-0; Mirarchi, Lesley 1-0-0; Fogler, Bethany 0-0-1; Brown, Lindsay 0-2-0; Hall, Kendra 0-1-1; Totals 19-4-4.0. (Assists) - Hall, Kendra 18. (Dig leaders) - Gavin, Mandi 6; Mirarchi, Lesley 5
