MONROE, La. -- The ULM sand volleyball program earned a 4-1 victory over LSU at the ULM Sand Volleyball Courts on Wednesday afternoon. With the victory the Warhawks end the 2014 home season undefeated.
Additionally, ULM (5-9) improved to 5-0 at home over the two year history of the sand volleyball program.
ULM's Celine Flores and Kaitlyn Shearer put the squad on the board first, grabbing the fifth flight in 2-1 fashion.
“I can't say enough about Kaitlyn and Celine. They had a rough start to the season, but now they've won their last four out of six matches. It's nice because we've been telling them they're heading in the right direction. To finally get the results is so satisfying,” head sand volleyball coach David Fischer said.
Hope Pawlik and Hadley Swartz were the next to post a point for the Warhawks, sweeping the Tiger (5-9) tandem of Khourtni Fears and Victoria Boraski.
“Hadley hits her jump serves the way LSU's servers can. I see no difference in ability there, with the pace she puts on the ball. Hope is a surprisingly good blocker and setter. They had a nice win for us.”
Michelle McNamee and Blanca Ocana clinched the overall match for ULM with a 2-0 win at the No. 2 spot, while Zuzana Markova and Marcela Araya were just behind them in completing their 2-0 sweep.
“Blanca's energy and enthusiasm is infectious in a good way. She's louder than the rest of us put together. She plays with heart, passion and all the things you like to see, plus she has a heavy shoulder and hits the ball fast. She has great hands and has been an asset to this program for four years. She and Michelle, who is a great athlete in her own right, took care of business today,” Fischer said.
“Zuzana is the leader of this team. She's like a player-coach. I'm a little bit superfilious with her around, She and Marcela are a great pair, which is bad news for LSU's No. 1 team who caught 'Mar-Z' when they're playing well.”
Rachel Arnason and Alannah Cullum dropped a hard-fought battle at the No. 4 spot, forcing a third set but falling short. It was LSU's only point of the match.
The Warhawks travel to Tallahassee, Fla., for the Florida State Pairs Tournament beginning Friday.
For more updates on ULM sand volleyball, follow @ULM_SandVB on Twitter.
ULM 4, LSU 1
1. Zuzana Markova/Marcela Araya (ULM) d. Meghan Mannari/Katie Lindelow (LSU) 21-14, 21-18
2. Michelle McNamme/Blanca Ocana (ULM) d. Kaitlin Hatcher/Helen Boyle (LSU) 21-18, 21-16
3. Hope Pawlik/Hadley Swartz (ULM) d. Khourtni Fears/Victoria Boraski (LSU), 21-15, 21-14
4. Mimi Eugene/Briana Holman (LSU) d. Alannah Cullum/Rachel Arnason (ULM), 21-14. 19-21, 15-6
5. Celine Flores/Kaitlyn Shearer (ULM) d. Katarina Raicevic/Emma Hiller (LSU), 21-11, 15-21, 15-9
6 (EX). Haley Smith/Laura Whalen (LSU) d. Kayla Kane/Iren Marinova (ULM) 21-9, 21-23, 15-10
