THIBODAUX, La. -- ULM lived on
the edge for the entire two-hour match against Nicholls State during the
opening day of the Bayou Invitational on Friday. The Warhawks rallied from a 2-0 deficit
to force a deciding five-game and then fought off five match points before the
Colonels clinched their ninth straight victory with an 18-16 win in game five
to take the match 3-2
The Colonels (10-3) were on
cruise control early taking the opening two games 25-12 and 25-19 before the
Warhawks (4-4) began their comeback. ULM blasted 17 and 18 kills in the third
and fourth games, respectively, to win the frames 25-20 and 25-21.
ULM grabbed an 8-7 lead in the
deciding game on a kill by Samantha Morse before Nicholls State when on a 7-2
run to take a 14-10 lead. With their backs against the wall, the Warhawks went
on the attack. A kill by Mahogany Dilonga started the rally and an attack error
by NSU followed. After a Nicholls State timeout, back-to-back blocks by the Warhawk defense tied the match at
14-all.
With the fifth-game tied at
16-all, Sarah Terry gave the Colonels match point with a kill and setter Jordan
Karst delivered the knockout blow with a dump over the net.
Zuzana Markova turned in a
dominating performance for the Warhawks as she posted a match-high 19 kills to
go along with 25 assists and 11 digs for her third double-double of the
season. Markova committed just three
attack errors during the match and turned in a match-high .356 attack
percentage.
Morse finished the match with
13 kills and three blocks, while Dilonga added 11 kills and four blocks.
Tetiana Sukach neared a double-double with seven kills and 14 digs as did Erica
Pritchett with nine kills and seven digs.
Rachel Yezak paced the NSU
attack with 17 kills, 14 digs and four blocks. Jennifer Brandt, Karst and
Kathryn Stock all added double-doubles for the Colonels.
The Warhawks wrap up play at
the Bayou Invitational with a pair of matches on Saturday. First up for ULM
will be a rematch with Grambling State at 8 a.m. -- the Warhawks defeated the Tigers 3-0 last
week -- followed by a match against Alabama A&M at 2 p.m.
