TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The ULM sand volleyball program wrapped up its trip to Florida State with a fourth place finish in the FSU Pairs Challenge Saturday.
The Warhawks were paced by Alannah Cullum and Rachel Arnason, who posted a 2-1 record in the “A” bracket. Zuzana Markova and Marcela Araya earned a victory in a loaded gold bracket.
Each group was seeded into round robin pools. The pools were then weighted with the first place gold team taking the most points (12.5) for the whole team and it scaled downwards by half-point increments so that the fourth-place team in the "A" bracket took one point. ULM finished with 31 points in all, just two behind South Carolina.
“Zuzana (Markova) and Marcela (Araya) were again playing well, regardless of the conditions. They added to their impressive win total and their only losses were to quality teams. We hope this will serve as a tune-up for a return to nationals,” head coach David Fischer said.
Hope Pawlik and Hadley Swartz picked up an upset win over South Carolina's top pair in the silver bracket in three sets.
“While our twos (Michelle McNamee and Blanca Ocana) came up short in their matches, our threes (Hope Pawlik and Hadley Swartz) had a great win over South Carolina's top pair,” Fischer added.
“Celine (Flores) and Kaitlyn (Shearer) continue to improve and Rachel (Arnason) and Alannah (Cullum) continue their steady play.”
The Warhawks will regroup and travel to UAB for a pair of duals on April 27. The first is against Tulane at 11 a.m. followed by a 3 p.m. tilt with the host Blazers to wrap up the 2014 season.
“We're really looking forward to spring break when we can train hard and continue to improve for our final two duals,” Fischer said.
For more updates on the sand volleyball squad, follow @ULM_SandVB on Twitter.
ULM Results (in pool order)
Gold (Markova/Araya)
Aurora Davis/Jace Pardon (FSU1) def. Zuzana Markova/Marcela Araya (ULM1) 21-11, 21-17
Zuzana Markova/Marcela Araya (ULM1) def. Melanie Pavels/Julie Brown (FSU3) 21-17, 17-21, 15-10
Fatma Yildirim/Sarah Wickstrom (FSU2) def. Zuzana Markova/Marcela Araya (ULM1) 21-19, 21-17
Silver (Swartz/Pawlik)
Sara Olivova/Jansen Button (GSU2) def. Hadley Swartz/Hope Pawlik (ULM3) 21-15, 21-15
Katie Madewell/Moriah Bellissimo (GSU1) def. Hadley Swartz/Hope Pawlik (ULM3) 21-6, 21-16
Hadley Swartz/Hope Pawlik (ULM3) def. Paige Wheeler/Sarah Blomgren (SC1) 15-21, 21-15, 15-8
Bronze (McNamee/Ocana)
Mikaela Christiaansen/Jade Vitt (SC3) def. Michelle McNamee/Blanca Ocana (ULM2) 21-16, 21-23, 15-13
Jordan Loney/Megan Kent (SC2) def. Michelle McNamee/Blanca Ocana (ULM2) 19-21, 21-19, 15-13
Katelyn Rawls/Sarah Agnew (GSU3) def. Michelle McNamee/Blanca Ocana (ULM2) 15-21, 21-15, 15-8
A (Cullum/Arnason; Flores/Shearer)
Alannah Cullum/Rachel Arnason (ULM4) def. Morgan LaVigne/Helen Recaborde (SC6) 21-14, 21-18
Litsa Darby/Erin Neuenfeldt (SC4) def. Celine Flores/Kaitlyn Shearer (ULM5) 15-21, 21-14, 15-8
Alannah Cullum/Rachel Arnason (ULM4) def. Celine Flores/Kaitlyn Shearer (ULM5) 21-13, 15-21, 15-13
Litsa Darby/Erin Neuenfeldt (SC4) def. Alannah Cullum/Rachel Arnason (ULM4) 21-13, 21-17
Morgan LaVigne/Helen Recaborde (SC6) def. Celine Flores/Kaitlyn Shearer (ULM5) 22-20, 28-26
