CENTRE, Ala. – The ULM volleyball squad suffered a setback versus Wofford before sweeping Alabama A&M in day one of the Gamecock Invitational Friday inside Cherokee Arena.
“I am really happy with the way we bounced back from this morning's match,” head coach Patrick Hiltz said. “Tara (Jenkins) and Presleigh (Williams) did a great job running our offense and it shows in our hitting numbers. This morning was all about poise and confidence. We lost our cool and panicked when push came to shove … We need to find that inner drive to push through to the end. It is time for some upperclassmen on this team to step up and take charge of the season. It looked like they started to do that in the afternoon match. With two more opportunities tomorrow, I'm ready to see who on this team is 'all in.'”
Wofford 3, ULM 1
Junior outside Taylor Zaeske fired a career-high 17 kills but that was not enough as the ULM volleyball squad fell in four sets (25-19, 15-25, 21-25, 24-26) to the Wofford Terriers Friday morning at the Gamecock Invitational inside Cherokee Arena.
In a back-and-forth first set which featured 11 ties and four lead changes, ULM (2-3) finally broke through with the set tied at 17. The Warhawks pushed seven straight points before taking the set 25-19. Zaeske led the attack with six first-set kills.
Wofford (2-3) turned the tide in the second set, scoring nine straight points after the set came to a standstill at eight. The Warhawks would battle back but to no avail as the Terriers would secure the second set 25-15.
ULM looked to stabilize in the third set after junior middle Kaitlyn Shearer blocked two Terrier attacks and slammed a kill to give the Warhawks a 21-17 advantage, but the Terriers responded by scoring the final eight points of the set with the help of Colleen Reilly, who recorded three kills in the eight-point scoring barrage.
The Warhawks struck quickly in the fourth set, scoring six of the first seven points. Later in the set junior Hope Pawlik fired a kill to give ULM set point at 24-20 before the Terriers capitalized on four Warhawk errors to score the next six points and take the match.
Junior libero Kacey LeBlanc dug a match-high 26 balls while sophomore setter Bayleigh Hoffman nearly missed her third double-double of the season with 32 assists, nine digs and a match-high five service aces. Pawlik also added 12 kills and eight digs.
The Terriers had three attackers, Reilly (13), Bella Santoro (12) and Danni Densford (11), in double-digit kills. Santoro (14 digs) and setter Molly Mayo (41 assists, 14 digs) each recorded double-doubles for the Terriers.
ULM 3, AAMU 0
Juniors Hadley Swartz and Kaitlyn Shearer spearheaded a balanced offensive Warhawk attack that saw the ULM volleyball squad sweep the Alabama A&M Terriers in straight sets (25-19, 25-17, 25-12) Friday afternoon at the Gamecock Invitational inside Cherokee Arena.
ULM (3-3) attacked at a .386 (43-9-88) clip, the school's highest mark since Sept. 13, 2012 against Grambling.
The first set was tied at four before Shearer recorded back-to-back kills to spark a 5-0 Warhawk run. The set would again be tied at 13 before Shearer produced two more kills within three straight ULM points. The Warhawks never lost the lead from that point forward and ended the set with an assisted block from sophomores Jennifer McClendon and Kalena Caruthers.
ULM started the third set in a three-point hole before fighting back to tie the match at 15. Swartz utilized her powerful topspin jump serve to record back-to-back service aces in the midst of a 3-0 Warhawk run. That was enough as AAMU (1-4) would only score two more points for the remainder of the set. Sophomore Bayleigh Hoffman got her jump float serve going as well, acing three Lady Bulldogs in the final four points of the set. The Warhawks got five of their final 10 points via the service ace.
The Warhawks pushed seven straight points behind strong service from junior Taylor Zaeske to bring the third set to an 18-9 ULM advantage. That was enough as the Warhawks would score seven of the final nine points to seal the victory.
Swartz added a match-high four service aces while Zaeske added seven kills, four assists, five digs and an ace. Sophomore Bayleigh Hoffman and freshman Presleigh Williams recorded 11 assists, and junior Kacey LeBlanc recorded a match-high 14 digs.
Ashundria McNeal (13) and Drea Matthews (10) led the Lady Bulldog attack while Riley Balsmeyer converted on a double-double with 24 assists and 12 digs.
The ULM volleyball squad continues tournament play tomorrow beginning with Alcorn State at 2 p.m. and concluding with host Jacksonville State in the nightcap at 7 p.m.
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