MONROE, La. - The ULM volleyball team played three strong
sets and greatly limited FIU's offensive attack but was edged out in each game
to fall 3-0 (17-25, 22-25, 18-25) Friday evening in the ULM Activity Center.
The Panthers extended their winning streak to seven-consecutive matches.
The Warhawks used a balanced offense as Blanca Ocana,
Samantha Morse and Zuzana Markova each had a team-high eight kills. Markova led
the squad in assists with 14 while Marcela Urbina held down the defense with 11
digs.
The Panthers' Jessica Egan collected the match's only double-double
with an evening-best 16 assists and 14 digs. Jovana Bjelica, who has won
back-to-back Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week honors the past two weeks, was
the only player to reach double-digit kills for the contest with 12.
ULM (9-14, 3-10 SBC) held FIU (17-7, 9-4 SBC), the fourth-ranked
team in the Sun Belt in hitting percentage, to just a .165 attack rate which is
well below its .241 average.
The Warhawks took an 8-6 lead in the first set after an
attack error but the Panthers responded with six-straight points to grab an
11-8 advantage. ULM brought the score back within one point 16-15 off a FIU
service error before a kill by Gonzalez sparked a six-point spree for a
commanding 22-16 lead. ULM scored once more before three-straight points ended
the set 25-17.
Three-straight ULM errors more than doubled the Panthers'
lead in the second set 9-4 before it came alive with a 7-3 run which included
kills by Ocana and Morse to barely trail 12-11. The Warhawks forced two ties
and stayed close on FIU's heels 21-19 when it used three-straight kills to
reach game point 24-19. Kills by Markova and Morse and an attack error held FIU
off three times until Andrea Lakovic's kill concluded the set 25-22.
The Panthers used sprees of three- and four-consecutive
points to open the third set with a 10-3 lead, but the Warhawks fired back with
a lopsided 12-6 run which included seven kills to get back into the game 16-15.
However, two questionable bad set calls fueled a seven-point streak to put FIU
two points away from match point 23-15. ULM benefited from three Panther errors
before the set ended 25-18.
ULM hosts the Sun Belt's other Florida member Florida
Atlantic tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 p.m. to continue its four-match homestand
to close out the season.
