MONROE,
La. --- The ULM volleyball team fell in a pair of matches on Saturday during
the Adidas Warhawk Bayou Showdown. The host-Warhawks fell in the morning match
to Houston Baptist in four (25-18, 25-18, 23-25, 25-13) and fell in three
during during the closing match of tournament to UMKC (25-23, 25-20,25-15).
“The
tournament as a whole went very well I thought,” head coach John Schmidt said. “I
though at times we improved and then at times our youth showed with unforced
errors and mental mistakes. I liked the way we fought in every match even
though at times the score didn't show.”
In
the opening match of the morning, the Warhawks dropped the first two sets but
were able to rebound in the third set with a two point victory after a 19-19
tie. However, during the third set the Warhawks were unable to overcome an early
9-4 deficit on the part of the Kangaroos (5-8).
The
Warhawks were led by senior Johanna Spreen's 11 kills and freshman Helen
Theisen's 24 assists. Freshman Lacey Dietlin also stepped up and dug 10
attacks.
During
the final match of the tournament the Warhawks fought with heart in the first
two sets as they trailed by no more than five points. In the third set the
Warhawks (0-9) trailed 16-9 but were unable to rise above 12 service errors.
The
Warhawks were led by freshman Helen Theisen's 20 assists and sophomore
Stephanie Wardach's eight kills.
“The
past two days we had freshmen who stepped up big,” Schmidt said. “Helen played
smart for us this weekend and is starting to find her grove with our outside
hitters. I also thought Kayci [Miller] and Ashley [Bland] raised their games
this weekend as well. It is obvious that time and patient is needed with the
youth of our team. I feel though that our freshmen are farther ahead then anyone
would have predicted.”
Overall,
for the tournament Houston Baptist's Jessica Barrera took home MVP honors.
Earning all-tournament first team honors were ULM's Helen Theisen along with Houston
Baptist's Natalie Magat and Jessica Barrera. In addition, Southeastern Louisiana's
Arianne Cruckshank and Paige Dollison and UMKC's Erin Wellwood received second
team honors.
ULM
will next travel Hammond, La. to face Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 16 before traveling to Conway, Ark., to play in the Central Arkansas Sugar Bear Classic.
In the opening round on Sept. 19, the Warhawks face host-Central Arkansas at 6
p.m. During Saturday's matches of the tournament the Warhawks will face
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 10 a.m. followed by Northwestern State at 12 p.m.
