TROY, Ala. - The ULM volleyball team struggled with multiple
errors in its first Sun Belt Conference match of the season and dropped all
three sets 3-0 (18-25, 14-25, 13-25) to Troy on the road Friday evening in
Sartain Hall.
ULM's Zuzana Markova earned her fourth double-double of the
season with team-highs in both kills and assists by collecting 11 and 15,
respectively. Samantha Morse also reached double-figures with 10 kills and
Meghan McCoy tied Markova at 15 assists while Marcela Urbina led the defense
with 14 digs.
Troy had just one player hit the double-digit plateau in
kills as Natasha Kolunija had 13 kills while Alexandra Alexander had Troy's
lone double-double with 31 assists and 12 digs, both team-highs.
The Warhawks (6-5, 0-1 SBC) hung close by preventing Troy
(11-4, 1-0 SBC) from going up by more than three points for the beginning of
the first set when two kills and an error extended the Trojans' lead 15-9. After
trading kills ULM answered with three-straight points to make the score 16-13
before Troy immediately came back with four-straight of its own to go up 20-13.
An even 5-5 run ended the first set 25-18.
Four errors out of the gate plagued ULM and allowed Troy to build
momentum with a four-point streak early in the second set before a 6-5 run
ensued that inched the Warhawks within four points 12-8. However, two separate streaks
of three- and four-straight points quickly doubled the Trojans' lead 19-9. ULM
tried to fight back with multiple kills by both Markova and Morse but was
unable to overcome the deficit to lose the second set 25-14.
With the momentum fully on their side the Trojans dominated
the final set from the start, taking a 5-2 lead before a service error sparked
five-consecutive points to extend their lead 10-2. ULM fell back further after
a 6-4 run before putting together kills by Alannah Cullum, Morse and an Urbina
service ace to make the mark 16-9. However, Troy used a 9-4 streak to close the
set and defeat ULM 25-13.
ULM returns to Sun Belt action tomorrow when it travels to
Mobile, Ala., to face South Alabama at 6 p.m.
