MONROE, La. – The ULM volleyball squad fell in straight sets (25-16, 25-18, 25-15) Sunday afternoon to 23rd-ranked Arkansas State inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
"I thought we played better today even though we lost," head coach Patrick Hiltz said. "Our mentality and effort were better. I felt we did a pretty good job staying positive and supportive throughout the match, and that was something we talked about during pregame so I was glad to see we were able to do that."
ULM (11-7, 2-2 SBC) fell behind 5-3 early in the first set versus ASU (15-1, 6-0 SBC) before scoring two straight points to bring the set to a five-point standstill. The Red Wolves, however, responded with three straight points on kills from Carlisa May and Darby Graff to grab an 8-5 advantage.
The Warhawks never did recover from that deficit as the Red Wolves ripped off a 7-1 run with the set at 15-12 in their favor to stretch the lead to nine at 22-13. ULM would score three of the next four on two ASU errors and a kill from junior Taylor Zaeske before the Red Wolves iced the set with back-to-back kills from Graff and Kelsey Reis.
The second set was also tied early on at one apiece before ASU again struck for a three-point run on three consecutive kills, two from Graff and one from Drew Jones. The Red Wolves increased the lead to six at 9-3 before the Warhawks charged back with four straight points on a kill from Hadley Swartz, two assisted blocks involving junior Ana Ribeiro and an ace from junior Hope Pawlik.
The turning point in the set came later at 15-11 in ASU's favor when the Red Wolves scored six straight points on four Graff kills. The Warhawks fought back behind strong service from freshman Presleigh Williams and senior Kimberlie Alvarado to score seven of the next eight points to slice into the ASU lead at 22-18. The Red Wolves would shut the door by scoring the next three points on two ULM attacking errors and a Jones service ace.
The Warhawks were fighting from behind early in the third set after the Red Wolves scored the first four points and 12 of the first 15. The maroon and gold countered by notching six out of the next seven points with Swartz blocking an attack attempt on an overpass and smashing a kill during the 6-1 run. ULM never could catch ASU as the Red Wolves used two three-point scoring runs to eventually close out the final set.
Pawlik and Swartz slammed eight and seven kills respectively while freshman Tara Jenkins dug 10 balls from the libero position. The Warhawks were limited to a .054 hitting clip while the Red Wolves swung .337.
Graff and May led the ASU attack with 13 and 11 kills respectively while SBC Preseason Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year Markie Schaedig recorded a match-high 12 digs. Reis swatted a match-high five balls in the match.
"Overall, we played two of, if not the two toughest teams in the Sun Belt this weekend. We came out of it healthy physically and with knowledge of what we need to work on so we can be successful this week against ULL, Troy and South Alabama. This is a real important stretch of games for us this week so we need to be prepared. I know we will be ready to go for Wednesday, we just need to address the areas where we were exposed and get some of our swagger back," Hiltz said.
ULM resumes play Wednesday against ULL at 6:30 p.m. to conclude its three-game home stretch, looking for a sweep against the Ragin' Cajuns after squeaking out a win in a five-set thriller in Lafayette earlier this season.
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