MONROE, La. - The ULM volleyball team claimed its
second-straight five-set victory in two days 3-2 (26-24, 23-25, 25-20, 15-25,
15-11) after an intense back-and-forth match with Stephen F. Austin Wednesday
evening in the ULM Activity Center.
The back-to-back victories are the first for the Warhawks (2-0)
since the 2009 season when they took down North Carolina A&T and Arkansas
Pine-Bluff on Sep. 5 and Sep. 11 with 3-0 and 3-1 results, respectively. This
also marks the first time in program history ULM opened the season with two
wins in a row.
This is just the fourth time the Warhawks have defeated the
Ladyjacks, snapping a 34-match losing streak with ULM's last win against
Stephen F. Austin dating back to Oct. 14, 1989. The win handed the Ladyjacks
(4-1) their first loss of the season.
Junior Zuzana Markova had another stand-out performance by
collecting a team-high 16 digs, 15 assists and 10 kills for her
second-consecutive triple-double. Sophomore Blanca Ocana and senior Meghan
McCoy also both earned their second doubles-doubles in two matches, with Ocana
smashing a team-high 16 kills with 10 digs while McCoy picked up 15 assists and
11 digs. Senior Mahogany Dilonga had a
match-high-tying five blocks.
Katzy Randall had the lone double-double for the Ladyjacks
with an evening-best 21 kills and 17 digs while Leslie Jackson also reached
double-digits in kills with 12. Paige Holland led Stephen F. Austin in assists
with 47 while Madison Hanlan collected 28 digs.
ULM had a slow start to the match and fell behind 8-3 early in
the first set when two kills by Ocana and Dilonga spurred a 5-1 run to put ULM one
point back 9-8. Stephen F. Austin held onto its lead for the majority of the set
and was just two points from ending it when the Warhawks went on a six-point
spree to take the lead 24-23. A kill by the Ladyjacks' Jackson knotted the
score again before an error and a service ace by Tetiana Sukach earned ULM the
first set 26-24.
The two teams stayed within one point of each other until
three-straight attack errors by ULM allowed Stephen F. Austin to double its
score 8-4. The Warhawks quickly recovered with errors by the Ladyjacks and a
kill and service ace gave them their first lead of the set 11-9. Stephen F.
Austin jumped out to a four-point lead 17-13 with an 8-2 run before the
Warhawks fought back to tie the score again 23-23 with an 10-6 run. The
Ladyjacks scored the final two points to take the second set 25-23.
The Warhawks utilized miscues by Stephen F. Austin to take an
8-5 lead in the third set before three-straight kills by the Ladyjacks evened
the score 8-8. Neither team could pull more than two points ahead for much of
the set until an Ocana kill and two attack errors allowed ULM to grab a 20-17 advantage.
The Warhawks surrendered three more points for the remainder of the set as they
used two more kills by Ocana and a kill by Sukach to put away the third set
25-20.
Two lead changes occurred to the start of the fourth set,
each team taking a two-point advantage before a Dilonga kill and two Ladyjack
errors gave ULM a 10-7 lead. Stephen F. Austin slowly wore down the Warhawks,
tying the score 13-13 with five-straight kills and a bad set, allowing only two
more ULM points as it rode a 12-2 streak to the fourth set win 25-15.
ULM fell back early 4-1 in the fifth set but quickly evened
the score with kills by Ocana and Sukach and a Stephen F. Austin error. A
back-and-forth battle ensued, with the result having potential to go either-way
as neither team gained more than a two-point advantage. With the score tied
11-11, the Warhawks shutdown the Ladyjacks with a final 4-0 run capped by
back-to-back Ocana kills to emerge victorious 15-11.
The Warhawks host Grambling State next Tuesday at 6 p.m. to conclude
a three-match homestand to open the
season. A win against Grambling State would give ULM its first three-game
winning streak since stringing together six wins in the 2005 season.
