LAKE CHARLES, La. - The ULM volleyball team dropped a
hard-fought match to its toughest opponent thus far in 2011 as Oral Roberts won
3-0 (14-25, 19-25, 20-25) Saturday afternoon at Memorial Gym in Lake Charles,
La. The Warhawks end the Comfort Inn & Suites Invitational with a 1-2
record.
Neither team reached double-digits in kills as junior Zuzana
Markova and sophomore Blanca Ocana led ULM (4-2) with six each. Senior Meghan
McCoy was the only Warhawk to reach double-figures in assists with 10 while she
also led in digs with seven. Senior Mahogany Dilonga had a strong performance
at the net with a match-high seven blocks.
The Golden Eagles' Joana Gruber had a match-best eight kills
while Sheina Fernandes and Elizabeth McVicker collected seven and six,
respectively. Laura Taylor picked up an afternoon-high 21 assists while Bruna
Silva had 10 digs to extend Oral Roberts' winning streak to seven in a row.
Oral Roberts (7-3) utilized multiple Warhawk errors in the
first set to quickly take a 9-3 lead. ULM was unable to put together any runs
as a 5-4 stint made the score 14-8 before the Golden Eagles scored
four-consecutive points to extend their advantage 18-8. Oral Roberts maintained
despite ULM attempting a late run with three-straight points and ended the set
with a 25-14 win.
The scored stayed close with a tie at 5-5 in the second set
until Oral Roberts used back-to-back service aces to spark a five-point spree
and double its lead 10-5. An 8-6 run inched ULM within four points 16-13 before
the Golden Eagles responded with five-straight points to increase its lead
21-13. A final 6-4 run was not enough for the Warhawks as the set ended in
favor of Oral Roberts 25-19.
ULM held Oral Roberts to no more than a three-point lead for
the majority of the third set and threatened with three-consecutive points including
a kill by Alannah Cullum to come within one point 12-11. The Golden Eagles immediately
answered with three points of their own to start a 10-4 run and take a 22-15
lead. The Warhawks attempted a late comeback with four-straight points
resulting from errors but Oral Roberts put the match away with the final three
points to win 25-19.
ULM continues its 10-match roadstand with a trip to Hammond,
La., to face Southeastern Louisiana next Tuesday at 7 p.m.
