MONROE, La. - Stephanie Wardach recorded a
season-high nine kills to lead the ULM volleyball team, but it was Southern
Miss who claimed the 3-0 match (25-17, 25-14, 25-20) Tuesday night inside the
ULM Activity Center.
Meghan McCoy paced ULM (2-10) with 20
assists, while Mahogany Dilonga added six kills. Christy Tribble dug 13 balls
and Lacey Dietlin served a pair of aces, to go along with seven digs.
Kelsea Seymour led Southern Miss (11-1) with
28 assists, while Ashley Mell and Angela Hlavaty each tallied eight kills.
Halie Ecker recorded three of the Golden Eagles 10 service aces in the match.
Southern Miss held a 9-5 lead in the
opening frame, before Caitlin Clarke smashed a pair of kills to push its lead
to 11-5. The Golden Eagles added two more kills to push their lead to four points, a
lead it would maintain through the remainder of the set. Southern Miss claimed
the first set, 25-17, as it finished with a .269 attacking percent compared to
ULM's .029 in the set.
The Warhawks used a pair of attacking errors
by the Golden Eagles and two kills each in the second set by Dilonga, McCoy, and Wardach to fight back from a
7-3 deficit to take an 8-7 lead. Southern Miss responded with a Sarah Jane
Bowden kill and a subsequent 13-2 run. The Golden Eagles went on to take the
second frame, 25-14, and a two set match lead.
ULM charged out of the gates in the third
from to a 12-6 lead, its largest of the match, behind a service ace from Dietlin and Sandra Stojimirovic, along with a pair of kills by Michelle Messing
and Wardach. The Golden Eagles chipped away at the deficit evening the match at
14 apiece and ultimately an 11-6 run down the stretch gave them the straight
set match sweep.
ULM returns to action this weekend when it
hosts the Adidas Warhawk Bayou Showdown. The tournament begins on Friday with a
4:30 match between McNeese State and Florida Atlantic. The Warhawks will follow
with a 7:00 p.m. showdown with Jackson State. The event continues Saturday with
matches at 10:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m.
