By Kyle Roberts
LAFAYETTE, La. — Ruston High volleyball is going back to the Cajun Dome for the second time in school history, and the Bearcats are scheduled to play No. 1 Mt. Carmel at 7 p.m. tonight in the quarterfinals.
For Lady Bearcat Head Coach Mandy Cauley, the feeling heading into the trip is a good one, and it starts with the group of players she is taking with her.
“I feel amazing,” Cauley said. “I’m feeling very confident. I have a group of kids that believe, and I have a group of kids that really want it. I also have a group of kids that’s able.
“We have put in the work, and we’re still putting in the work, and we are a great team. So I feel good about it.”
Because the Bearcats are in the late match, the start time could move. Cauley said the matches ahead of theirs will dictate when they actually take the floor.
“We have to be flexible because we’re in a bracket now and the people ahead of us will dictate when we actually start,” Cauley said. “If that game goes to five, we might start late.”
Cauley said her team has scouted Mt. Carmel on video and expects a different look from the one the Bearcats run. Ruston runs a 5-1 offense with senior setter Baylor Cauley. Mt. Carmel runs a 6-2, which uses two setters.
“One of their setters is also one of their leading scorers,” Cauley said. “When she comes to front row, she transitions in as a hitter, and she’s pretty good. She scores a lot of points for them.”
Mt. Carmel also has a senior outside hitter, Lila Franovich, who Cauley said the Bearcats have been warned about. Ruston has prepared for her directly.
“We’ve been having our hitters hit where she hits, so we’re not shocked, and ready to play defense,” Cauley said. “We’ve actually composed a plan A and a plan B and a plan C. We’re going to start with plan A, and this is how we’re going to respond if we get rattled. If that doesn’t work, this is how we’re going to respond if we get rattled.
“Nobody should be shocked with any switches within our lineup, because we’ve practiced everything.”
Cauley said the biggest story of Ruston’s 2026 season has been the depth of the roster, which has allowed the Bearcats to adjust to opponents in ways they could not in the past.
“We have depth that we haven’t had recently,” Cauley said. “We’ve been able to adjust to opponents in ways that we haven’t been able to do in the past, whereas people have kind of been locked into a position. We have more depth and flexibility this year, and the way they’ve developed together throughout the season, peaking at the right time. Every obstacle, every game, every loss, every challenge, we’ve really bought into learning from it and putting it all together.”
That depth has come from a mix of veterans and freshmen. Cauley said the seniors have taken on leadership roles in their own ways, and she singled out freshman outside hitters Josie Cauley and Lily Bissell as the players who carry a lot of weight among the underclassmen.
“Josie and Lily carry the most weight as freshmen, but they don’t act like it feels heavy,” Cauley said. “Everybody around them is doing their job, and when everybody’s doing their job, it allows everybody to play free.”
Cauley said that approach has changed the roles of two returning players, senior middle hitter Jane Ramsey and junior middle hitter Addie Powell. Cauley said both carried a lot of weight last year, and she acknowledged that she put heavy expectations on them to slow things down at the net and to score.
“It felt heavy at times, and it did not allow them to perform their best,” Cauley said. “Because there’s girls on the team now that can score, they don’t feel like they have to score every time.”
Cauley said she talked with Ramsey about it Tuesday, and that the senior told her she had realized her priority is defense.
“Jane was like, ‘Coach, I’ve realized that my job and my priority isn’t offense. It’s defense, and what I do most for the team right now is block and slow down the opponents,'” Cauley said. “I said, ‘That’s it, Jane. We’re going to give you the ball some, and if you score, it’s a bonus, but there’s other people that can score.’ The fact that she understands that is so mature, and it’s such a team mentality.
“I don’t have a single player that’s worried about themselves. That’s the best feeling in the world as a coach.”
Cauley said she is grateful for the chance to prepare in a different setting, and she described the week’s schedule in detail. The Bearcats had Sunday off, then practiced from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday to get used to a later start. On Tuesday night, they practiced at the Thomas Assembly Center to get a feel for brighter lights and a different stage.
“I reminded them that the dimensions of the floor are the same and the net height is the same,” Cauley said. “It’s about getting grounded on each other, regardless of the environment.”
Cauley then told her players she would be at the gym at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday for extra work.
“I thought I was going to have two show up,” Cauley said. “I had 11.”
Cauley said the team will take Wednesday evening off. The Lady Bearcats will leave for Lafayette on Thursday morning and stop at the Cajun Elite practice facility, a club volleyball facility, for serving and passing work. They will then go to the hotel to rest, and a meal will be delivered there. The team will leave the hotel at 5 p.m. for a 5:30 p.m. arrival at the Cajun Dome.
This will be Cauley’s third state tournament trip a coach, after one with Calvary as an assistant and the 2023 trip with Ruston as the head coach. She said the biggest lesson from 2023 has been how much her team responds to her demeanor.
“I need to be the calm for them,” Cauley said. “They’re teenage girls. They are going to be anxious. They are going to be nervous. They are going to feel the weight of the moment, and I need to not feel it. I need to be like a duck. I’ve got to look cool on the surface, even if my heart’s racing and my hands are shaking underneath the water.”
She said she feels more prepared now than she did then.
“The preparation is there,” Cauley said. “These kids have been through so many different situations this year. This is another opportunity to prove what we’re capable of.”
