MONROE, La. -- ULM snapped its six-match skid with a thrilling 3-2 victory over South Alabama Sunday afternoon at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. It was the Warhawks' first win over the Lady Jags since Oct. 6, 2006, when ULM won 3-0 in Monroe.
With the victory, the Warhawks (5-16, 1-4 Sun Belt) also snapped a nine-match Sun Belt skid dating back to Oct. 19, 2012, when ULM had a 3-1 success over Florida Atlantic.
“We've been saying all year we are 12-deep. Our senior captain (Blanca Ocana) goes down and we have no idea how serious her injury is, we will find out later, but we had people step up. We are a team, and that's what we have been preaching. We're not one individual, we're 12 individuals that make up a team and that's what it took tonight,” ULM Head Coach Patrick Hiltz said.
Freshmen outside hitters Hadley Swartz and Hope Pawlik led the Warhawk attack with 15 and 14 kills, respectively. Junior middle blocker Alannah Cullum also had a spectacular afternoon with eight kills and seven huge blocks. Pawlik and freshman middle blocker Kaitlyn Shearer set career highs with five and six blocks, respectively, while junior Marcela Araya had a match-high 19 digs to round out the defensive effort.
“Hope and Hadley continue to get better. It's going to be exciting to watch them over the next four years. People need to come out and continue to support them because they're fantastic players. I'm really impressed with Alannah's effort today. She started off slow and I called her out on it, and boy, did she respond. If we get a big performance like that from her every night, we're going to be tough to beat,” Hiltz said.
The match came down to a thrilling fifth set where South Alabama (5-10, 0-5 Sun Belt) had rallied to a 14-11 lead and seemed to have all the momentum. ULM took timeout and exploded out of the hiatus and outscored the Lady Jags 6-1 to win the deciding stanza 17-15 behind late blocks from Cullum and Pawlik.
“South Alabama is a scrappy team. They are young like we are and I expected a battle and we got one. We kept our belief and said we were going to win today. Even down 14-11 in the fifth set, we refused to give up, and that's something this team needs to hold on to,” Hiltz said.
In the first set, the teams battled to nine tie scores, including one as late as 20-all. ULM and South Alabama traded blows throughout the frame and neither team led by more than four (USA at 24-20). The Warhawks rallied to tie the set at 17-all and again at 20-all before the Lady Jags closed the stanza on a 5-2 run.
ULM knotted the match up at one set apiece after it took the second set 25-23. The Lady Jags started with the momentum, however, and led 5-1 before the Warhawks assembled an 8-4 spurt to tie it at nine. From that point, it was very back and forth with USA retaining the lead until ULM junior setter Kayla Kane served for a 3-0 run that gave the Warhawks a lead at 17-16. Both teams continued to battle but ULM used an 8-7 advantage over the final points to win and head to the locker room tied at one.
After the break, the third set was all South Alabama. After an 11-all tie, the Lady Jags closed the frame on a 14-4 run to close the set at 25-15 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
“We came out of the break and we got away from the things that gave us the win in game two. I told them to go back to focusing on the things we did well in game two instead of trying to get five-point swings. That's what we did in game four,” Hiltz said.
ULM regrouped in the fourth and started with the lead. However, the South Alabama kept things close and eventually led 11-8 before ULM used a 3-0 rally to tie the game. Both teams traded 10 points each with a few small rallies on both sides. With things tied at 21, however, that is when ULM took control of the set. The Warhawks took advantage of a pair of blocks from a combination of Pawlik, Cullum and Shearer. Cullum added the exclamation point with a kill to give ULM the 25-21 win and force the fifth set.
The Warhawks are back in action Friday, Oct. 11 at Western Kentucky. First serve is at 7 p.m. For more updates on ULM Volleyball, follow the team on Twitter @ULM_VB.
