THIBODAUX, La. - The ULM volleyball team earned its first
win of the 2011 Bayou Nicholls Invitational by defeating Grambling State 3-1
(25-16, 22-25, 25-18, 25-21) Saturday morning in Thibodaux, La. The win gives
the Warhawks a sweep of both matches played against the Lady Tigers this season
and improve to 5-4 overall.
Junior Zuzana Markova continued her outstanding play with
her fifth triple-double this season which included a career-high 19 kills, 21
assists and 12 digs. Senior Meghan McCoy picked up her third double-double this
year after a team-high 25 assists and 10 digs while freshman Marcela Urbina spearheaded
the defense with a career-high 20 digs. Junior Samantha Morse also contributed
11 kills and senior Lacey Dietlin had 12 digs.
DaVarika Johnson was the lone Lady Tiger to earn a
double-double with a team-high 18 assists and 13 digs while Tiara Mciver was
the only player to hit double-digits in kills with 11. Chelsee Goins collected
a team-best 18 digs and Breonna Loud had 12 assists.
After a narrow start the Warhawks used a kill by Sukach to
spark a four-point spree and take a 15-8 lead in the first set. A 6-5 run in
favor of the Lady Tigers ensued until two attack errors and a kill by Markova
gave ULM a 23-14 advantage. Markova added two more kills to close out the first
set 25-16.
A back-and-fourth second set saw two lead changes early
until kills by Alannah Cullum and Samantha Morse gave ULM a 15-9 advantage and
forced a Grambling State timeout. The Lady Tigers scored six-consecutive points
following the break to knot the score 15-15, and three more ties followed until
the 20-20 mark. Grambling State used a final 5-2 run to claim the second set
25-22.
The Warhawks held a one-point advantage 11-10 in the third
set before a five-point streak including two kills by Mahogany Dilonga and an
ace by McCoy extended their advantage 16-10. A nearly even 8-7 run put
Grambling State within five 23-18 until an error and a final Markova kill gave
ULM a 25-18 win.
ULM maintained the lead for the fourth set and jumped out to
a 16-11 advantage off a kill by Erica Pritchett and a service ace by Markova
until the Lady Tigers responded with a 7-2 run including a four-point streak of
their own to knot the score 17-17. The Warhawks held off the charge despite two
more ties until the 19-19 mark by taking a final 5-2 run including back-to-back
Markova aces on the final two points to win the last set 25-21.
The Warhawks play their final non-conference match of the
season this afternoon when they face Alabama A&M at 2 p.m.
