MONROE, La. – The ULM volleyball team fell in its last home match of the 2010 season to Sun Belt Conference foe UL-Lafayette Tuesday evening in the ULM Activity Center after being swept 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-17).
Freshman outside hitter
Blanca Ocana earned her third double-double of the season after claiming a team-high 13 assists and 11 digs for the Warhawks. Senior libero
Christy Tribble also collected a team-high 11 digs while sophomore right side hitter
Tetiana Sukach contributed 10. Senior outside hitter
Stephanie Wardach led the Warhawks in kills with seven, while Ocana chipped in six and Sukach five.
Lesley Mirarchi was the lone Ragin' Cajun to hit double-digits in kills with 12 for the contest. Mandi Gavin had a match-high 36 assists, while Lindsay Brown and Brooke Niland each contributed 23 and 15 digs apiece.
UL-Lafayette (16-12, 6-6 SBC) grabbed an early 5-1 lead in the first set before three consecutive points by ULM (0-21, 0-12 SBC) quickly put the Warhawks within one 5-4. The Ragin' Cajuns answered with a 10-4 spree to nearly double their lead 15-8 before an even 5-5 run made the score 20-13 in favor of UL-Lafayette. The Warhawks scored four more points before a five point run gave the Ragin' Cajuns the first set win 25-17.
The second set started with multiple ties until the 5-5 mark when back-to-back kills by Wardach and Sukach gave the Warhawks a 7-5 advantage. A short 3-1 run extended ULM's lead 10-6 before UL-Lafayette went on a 9-1 streak including six unanswered points to go up 15-11. The Warhawks immediately responded with four consecutive points including back-to-back kills by Ocana and a kill by Iren Marinova to even the score 15-15. Four more ties would follow until UL-Lafayette took control at 19-19 with a 6-2 run to claim the second set 25-21.
Each team traded points during the beginning of the third set with a kill by Sukach tying the score 8-8 before three straight UL-Lafayette points quickly put the Ragin' Cajuns up 11-8. A 7-4 run increased UL-Lafayette's lead 18-12 before kills by Wardach and Marissa Davis and a Ragin' Cajun attack error brought the Warhawks within three 18-15. ULM scored twice more before a final seven points clinched the third set win for UL-Lafayette 25-17.
ULM hits the road for its four remaining regular season matches starting this weekend with a visit SBC rival FIU in Miami on Friday at 5:30 p.m. followed by a trip to Boca Raton to face FAU Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
