LAFAYETTE, La. - Stephanie Wardach recorded a
career-high 13 kills to lead the ULM volleyball team, even though, Louisiana-Lafayette
claimed a 3-1 (25-19, 25-16, 26-27, 25-16) Sun Belt Conference match on Monday
night inside Earl K. Long Gym.
It was the second-consecutive match in which
a ULM (3-20, 0-8) attacker set a new career best. The Warhawks' Mari O'Neal
smashed a career-high 24 kills on Sunday afternoon. O'Neal also recorded
double-digit kills against the Ragin' Cajuns as she finished with 11 kills.
Meghan McCoy finished with a team-high 30
assists for ULM. On the defensive side, Lacey Dietlin led the way with 12 digs,
while Christy Tribble and McCoy added 11 and 10 digs, respectively.
Caroline Dufrene led all attackers and
Louisiana-Lafayette (7-15, 1-6) with 15 kills. Amie Goodwin finished with 12
kills, while Kenra Hall added 38 assists. Amanda Cune chipped in 15 digs and
Mandi Gavin recorded three block solos and two blocks assists.
The first set saw neither team wanting to
take control as there were eight scoring ties in the first half of the opening
frame. Louisiana-Lafayette used a 3-0 run behind three-consecutive Dufrene
kills to pull away from a 14-14 tie and take the lead, 17-14. The Rajin' Cajuns
finished the stanza with an 8-4 run and closed the door with a pair of Goodwin
service aces to take the first set, 25-19.
Louisiana-Lafayette rebounded from a 6-5 deficit
in the second frame as it scored 11 of the next 13 points to go ahead 14-8. The
Warhawks couldn't find their offense in the set as they finished with a .000
attacking percentage compared to the Rajin' Cajuns .273 attacking percentage at
the net. Louisiana-Lafayette would claim the set 25-16 and a two set lead in
the match.
The third set excited the fans the most as
there were 10 scoring ties and four lead changes as ULM needed a pair of extra
points to claim the frame. O'Neal began a Warhawk rally with a kill as they
went on a 5-0 run to turn a deficit into a 22-21 lead. The Rajin' Cajuns
answered with a 3-1 run that included two ULM attacking errors to retake the
lead 24-23.
Following a Louisiana-Lafayette attacking
error, Wardach smashed a kill to put the Warhawks in front 25-24. ULM couldn't
record the set winning point as it served an error. The Warhawks eventually
capitalized on a Rajin' Cajun attacking error to claim the third stanza, 27-25,
and cut the match deficit to two sets to one.
Louisiana-Lafayette pulled away near the end
of the fourth set as it finished with a .423 attacking percentage, its highest
in the match. The Rajin' Cajuns extended a two-point lead, 6-4, into a 15-8
advantage behind a pair of Dufrene kills. Louisiana-Lafayette took the fourth
set, 25-15, and match for its first conference win of the season.
ULM concludes its five-match road swing with a
Sun Belt Conference a showdown at UALR on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. before traveling
to Arkansas State on Sunday for a match at 1:00 p.m.
