MONROE, La. – Junior middle blocker Kaitlyn Shearer set the tone with a match-high 21 kills for the Maroon squad that edged out the Gold squad in a five-set intrasquad inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum Saturday evening.
The Maroon squad jumped out to a 10-4 lead early in the first set before an 8-2 Gold run brought the first set even at 12. Junior outside hitter Hope Pawlik and sophomore right-side Kalena Caruthers paved the way with six and five kills respectively to see the Gold to a one-set advantage.
The second set was dominated by the Maroon squad and Shearer in particular, who finished with five kills in the set.
The back-and-forth affair continued in the third set, which was taken by the Gold squad. Pawlik made her presence known in the third set, recording a set-high eight kills.
Maroon evened the match back up after taking the fourth set, largely in part to Shearer who smashed five kills in seven attempts. The Maroon squad also displayed superior serving, acing the Gold squad five times in the set.
The fifth set was knotted at six before a 5-0 Maroon run sparked by two Kacey LeBlanc service aces occurred. The Gold would notch only one more point on a kill from junior transfer Ana Ribeiro before being swept in the final four points.
Pawlik finished with the second-highest kill total in the match with 18. Caruthers and junior outside hitter Taylor Zaeske also finished with double-digit kills at 12 and 11, respectively. The setters for both squads, sophomore Bayleigh Hoffman (38 assists, 19 digs) and freshman Tara Jenkins (28 assists, 18 digs), each finished with double-doubles.
The ULM volleyball squad heads to Starkville next weekend for a two-day tournament on Friday and Saturday starting with Jackson State at 2 p.m on Friday, Aug. 28.
