A too-good-to-be-true ending occurred for one college volleyball senior on Friday night.
An ace was all it took for senior Siena DeCambra to feel her injury-filled senior season was worth it.
The 5-foot-8 setter played for Louisiana for the first time this season since she was sidelined after suffering an ACL and meniscus injury in the preseason.
In a storybook ending for the final game of her collegiate career, she nailed a walk-off ace to earn the Ragin’ Cajuns a 3-1 victory (25-20, 25-23, 19-25, 25-16) over Georgia Southern.
The breakthrough moment also occurred on senior day.
DeCambra, wearing a heavy brace on her right leg, sent the match point serve firing behind Georgia Southern and the libero’s dive wasn’t enough to put the ball into play.
The Maui, Hawaii native’s teammates jumped up and down with joy and the bench cleared to surround her with hugs as DeCambra shed joyful tears.
Fellow senior Cami Hicks also had a big night, recording nine blocks to put her season total to 135.
It surpasses the previous rally-scoring era single-season blocks record of 129 set by Clarice Laires in 2001.
DeCambra, who previously played for Odessa College in Odessa, Texas, transferred to Louisiana for the 2021-2022 season.
In her junior year, she was one of just two setters in the Sun Belt Conference to reach a total of 1,100 assists in the regular season.
She also recorded her first 1,000-assists season of her collegiate career that same year.
The 2023 season performance earned DeCambra a spot on the All-Sun Belt Second Team and the All-Louisiana First Team.
DeCambra’s ace capped off the Ragin’ Cajuns’ season at a 9-16 overall record (5-9 conference).
