MONROE, La. – Despite registering more total kills than its opponent, the ULM volleyball team couldn't turn that into a victory as UT Arlington defeated the Warhawks, 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-12) Sunday afternoon at the Fant Ewing Coliseum in Monroe, La.
"We did a fantastic job of executing our game plan is set one," head coach Patrick Hiltz said. "They pushed at us towards the end and we didn't respond well enough to win the set. Unfortunately, we went away from what was working and tried to reinvent the wheel. If we had just stuck with what was working we would have been a little more competitive."
Sophomores Hope Pawlik and Kaitlyn Shearer led all scorers with nine kills apiece. Pawlik's nine kills came on a team-high .364 hitting percentage, while Shearer added two blocks.
Hadley Swartz just missed a double-double after racking up 10 digs, eight kills and two blocks.
Jennifer McClendon collected five kills on 18 swings to go with three digs and two blocks. Fellow freshman Bayleigh Hoffman amassed 39 assists, six digs and a block.
Marcela Araya continues to be a force on the defensive end for ULM (7-19, 1-12 Sun Belt). The senior libero totaled 20 digs in only three sets to bump her average to 5.44 digs per set.
In a tight first match, the Warhawks were able to force three tie scores and three lead changes before the Mavericks (20-5, 10-3 Sun Belt) separated themselves late to capture the first stanza, 25-21.
Down 21-14 late in the second set, ULM rallied to earn five of the next six points. However, UTA took advantage of two errors and a kill to take a two set lead before finishing off the Warhawks in the final set.
"UTA is a solid team. We cannot go away from our strengths and our gameplan and think we can beat a team like that. Hopefully it's a lesson in staying committed to who we are and trusting ourselves and each other."
ULM is back in action Friday night at 7 p.m. when ULM hosts conference foe UALR (19-4, 13-0 Sun Belt) at the Fant Ewing Coliseum.
