Southeastern Louisiana 3, ULM 0
JACKSON, Miss. -- Despite Meghan McCoy's fourth-career
double-double and a match-high 14 kills by Blanca Ocana, the ULM volleyball
team dropped its 2010 season opener 3-0 (26-24, 25-23, 25-22) to Southeastern
Louisiana on Saturday at the Jackson State Invitational.
McCoy collected a team-high 24 assists and 10 digs to contribute both
offensively and defensively for the Warhawks. The Baytown, Texas, native also
had two kills in five attempts with no errors to finish the match with a .400
attack percentage.
Stephanie Wardach added seven kills while Christy Tribble
had 10 digs and a team-high three service aces for the Warhawks in head coach
Ernest Vasquez's debut. Taylor Buckner had nine kills, Arianne Cruckshank had
26 assists and Alex Greer had eight digs to pace the Lions (3-1).
After falling behind by as many as four points early in the
first set, ULM (0-1) went on an 8-4 run sparked by three of Ocana's 10 kills in
the opening frame to tie the score at 16-16 – the sophomore from Guatemala
City, Guatemala, finished the opening set with a scorching .538 attack
percentage. The remainder of the set featured five ties before the Lions were
able to put together back-to-back points and claim at 26-24 victory.
The second set played nearly identical to the opening frame with neither team
leading by more than four points. Back-to-back aces by Tribble and one of three
blocks in the match by Mahogany Dilonga helped the Warhawks grab an 18-14
advantage. However, the Lions responded with 6-1 run by taking advantage of
several ULM miscues to grab a 20-19 lead.
The Warhawks scored four of the next five points with a pair
of kills by Wardach, an ace by Dilonga and an error by the Lions, but SLU
scored the final four points of the set – all on ULM mistakes – to claim a
25-23 victory and a 2-0 match lead.
The Warhawks jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the third set on an
ace by McCoy, a kill by Marissa Davis and three errors by the Lions. Southeastern
Louisiana would battle back and make the third set a thrilling back-and-forth
affair. After the Lions grabbed a 20-17 advantage, back-to-back kills by Davis
and Wardach pulled the Warhawks within a point. However, SLU scored five of the
set's final eight points to clinch the match with a 25-22 victory.
Jackson State 3, ULM 1
ULM got off to a strong start in
the nightcap against Jackson State and Blanca Ocana posted her second
double-digit kill match of the season, but the Tigers rallied for a 3-1 (20-25,
25-23, 25-21, 25-18) victory over the Warhawks at the Jackson State Invitational on Saturday.
After tallying 14 kills in her
ULM debut against Southeastern Louisiana earlier in the day, Ocana smashed a
team-high 13 kills against Jackson State. Meghan McCoy had 27 assists and two
service aces while Christy Tribble posted a match-high 22 digs. ULM's Mahogany
Dilonga was the match's most efficient hitter posting a .438 attack
percentage after smashing nine kills to just two errors.
Jackson State's Chyna Coleman led
all players with 18 kills, LaToya Clark posted a match-high 40 assists and Teri
Braddock added 19 digs. The Tigers out-hit ULM .181 to .092 for the match
and also won the battle at the net with 10 blocks compared to eight by the
Warhawks.
Jackson State (2-2) took a quick
2-0 lead in the first set before ULM (0-2) benefited from two errors by the
Tigers to quickly equal the score. That jumpstarted a run that included kills
by Marissa Davis and Ocana and another Tiger error to give the Warhawks a 5-2 lead.
ULM used an 11-5 run to more than double its lead as it jumped out to a 16-7
advantage. Jackson State fought its way back to within four points at 19-15
behind three kills by Kameron Boggan, but the Warhawks would not be denied as
they took the opening set 25-20.
The Warhawks jumped out to a 6-3 to
start the second set thanks to a service ace and kill by Stephanie Wardach, a
kill by Ocana and a trio of Jackson State errors. Back-to-back kills by Coleman
and Donisha Dunn pulled JSU to within a point, 6-5, and set off a back-and-forth
battle of momentum. Neither team could pull away until Jackson State went up
18-16 on three straight ULM errors. Two final kills by Dunn and Coleman gave
Jackson State a 25-23 victory in the frame to even the match at one set each.
Another quick two points at the
beginning of the third set put Jackson State at an advantage. A service error
on the next play put the ball in ULM's hands and the Warhawks responded
immediately putting points up after a team error by JSU with three straight kills by
Davis, Dilonga and Wardach to gain a 4-3 lead. However, Jackson State
immediately followed with a run of its own as it outscored the Warhawks 13-6 to go
up 16-10 in the set. The Tigers maintained at least a three-point lead the remainder of the set and took a 2-1 lead in the match after winning the third frame 25-21.
In the fourth set, Jackson State
took a three-point lead, 12-9, after three straight kills by Coleman and an
error by the Warhawks. After the teams split the next seven serves, the
Tigers scored five-straight points -- three from ULM errors -- to go up 20-14. That
run would prove to be the difference as JSU went on to win the set 25-18 and
take the match three games to one.
The Warhawks travel to Nacogdoches,
Texas, on Tuesday to face Stephen F. Austin
at 7 p.m.
