MONROE, La. – Junior Taylor Zaeske fired 11 kills and dug 12 balls to score her 10th double-double on the season as the ULM volleyball team fell in straight sets (25-23, 25-15, 25-12) to UT Arlington Saturday night inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
“It's disappointing to play so well one week and play so poorly the next week,” head coach Patrick Hiltz said. “We fought hard in the first set, and I really expected us to put up a better effort the rest of the way. We can't pretend to be one of the best teams in the Sun Belt Conference if we can't perform better in bigger games.”
Senior Kimberlie Alvarado slammed seven kills on a .500 clip while juniors Hope Pawlik and Ana Ribeiro added five kills each. Freshman Tara Jenkins patrolled the backline well, digging a match-high 17 balls, the most for her in a three-set match this season.
“I have to say that Kim and Tara really played well tonight,” Hiltz said.
Qiana Canete led the Mavericks with nine kills while Stacey Koch and Zhanelle Geathers smashed eight apiece. Setter Cassidy Wheeler dished out a match-high 25 assists as the Mavericks out-blocked the Warhawks 10.0-2.0.
Pawlik and junior Kaitlyn Shearer combined on a block to put ULM (13-17, 3-12 SBC) up 6-3 early in the first set before UT Arlington (18-9, 9-6 SBC) responded with six straight points capped by a Kaitlyn Granger ace to take a 10-6 advantage.
Alvarado and Ribeiro stuffed a Maverick attack which prompted a four-point Warhawk run behind Shearer's serve to later tie the set at 13. The two teams traded points before UTA ripped off three straight on three kills, two from Koch and one from Geathers.
The Warhawks saved a set point later in the set when Zaeske smashed a kill to make it 24-23 before the Mavericks closed the set on a Koch kill. Zaeske recorded seven kills in the opening stanza.
The second set came to a five-point standstill before a kill from Maverick attacker Cassidy Wheeler prompted a 5-0 UTA run to make it 10-5. The Warhawks got back-to-back kills from Pawlik and junior Hadley Swartz before the Mavericks countered with a four-point run on four ULM attacking errors.
With the Warhawks still trailing 20-15 later in the set, the Mavericks closed the set by scoring the last five points on four ULM attacking errors and a Koch kill. The Warhawks could not get it going offensively, swinging a -.109 clip as the Mavericks blocked six balls for points in the second set.
ULM fought back after being down three early in the third to trail by one at 8-7. UTA then took off with the set, scoring six straight points lifted by Madison Helt's serve. An Alvarado kill made it 19-11 when the Mavericks turned it up a notch to score the next five points to force set point at 24-11. A Canete service error occurred before Koch blocked a Zaeske attack to end the match.
ULM returns to the court Tuesday versus Alabama A&M in Huntsville, Ala., with a 6 p.m. first serve slated.
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