MONROE, La. – On the verge of defeat trailing two sets to one, the ULM volleyball team stepped up in a gigantic way and dominated the fourth set to swing all the momentum its way, which catapulted the Warhawks to a 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-15, 15-10) victory over Troy Friday night at the Fant Ewing Coliseum.
“We just needed to learn how to get a team victory and how to roll with the flows and momentums of this game,” ULM head coach said. “We could've easily given up in game two and we didn't, we kept fighting. We could've rolled over after getting beat pretty bad in game three and we didn't. We came back and responded with a fierce attitude to take game four and that set the tone for us in game five.”
Heading into the fourth set, Hiltz decided to switch up the lineup and start sophomore Taylor Zaeske on the outside. The move paid off as Zaeske was the sparkplug in a dominating 25-15 fourth set win, accounting for nine points with six kills and three service aces.
Carrying that momentum into the decisive fifth stanza, ULM (7-15, 1-7 Sun Belt) jumped out to an 11-4 lead over the Trojans (9-8, 1-7 Sun Belt). A powerful kill by Hope Pawlik sealed the fifth set and the victory in front of a lively student section.
“It means a lot to me that I could be a momentum starter for my team, especially coming off the bench,” Zaeske said. “In the weight room, strength coach Grant Darnell constantly reminds us to finish strong so credit him because his advice helped get me through the end of today's match.”
Not only did ULM grab its first Sun Belt victory but the Warhawks pushed their win total to seven on the season, the program's highest mark since 2011.
Zaeske played the second most efficient match of her career (.391), amassing 12 kills on 23 swings and a match-high four service aces.
“Taylor is our energized battery,” Hiltz added. “She came off the bench with some great energy, great attitude, she's been a sparkplug for us all year and they couldn't stop her.”
Both Pawlik and freshman Bayleigh Hoffman picked up double-doubles along the way. Pawlik led all scorers with 17 kills to go with 10 digs and two service aces. Hoffman was the facilitator assisting on 33 of the team's 56 kills, while adding 10 digs for her sixth career double-double.
Senior Marcela Araya led a defense that halted the Trojans attack late in the match, holding the offense's hit percentage to .000 and .056 in the fourth and fifth sets, respectively. Araya posted 20 digs over five sets, marking the 11th time she's recorded at least 20-digs during the year.
Sophomores Hadley Swartz and Kaitlyn Swartz played well on both sides of the ball. Swartz fell just shy of a double-double with 10 digs and eight kills. Shearer hit an impressive .429 on seven kills and led the team with five blocks.
Freshman Jenifer McClendon was the match's most efficient player with a .556 hit percentage during five kills. Kimberlie Alvarado chipped in with four kills and three blocks.
“A win like today should give us confidence,” Hiltz said. “What we've learned is to never give up on ourselves, never give up on each other and I think that's going to be key for us moving forward in these conference matches.”
The Warhawks aim to make it two in a row on Sunday when they travel across state lines to battle Texas State (12-8, 7-1 Sun Belt) at 12 p.m.
