MONROE, La. – The ULM volleyball team earned a much-needed conference win on Thursday night (Oct. 18) against Sun Belt opponent Georgia State. The Warhawks jumped out to a 2-0 match lead before the Panthers claimed a set three win, but ULM stood strong to defeat Georgia State in the final set, 25-22.
 
"This was a total team win," said first-year head coach Russ Friedland.  "From the court to the bench and staff. I'm so proud of us for gutting out this win on our home floor. We had some great comebacks at the end of the third and fourth set. I love to watch this team grind. They refused to be outworked tonight and it paid off."
 
Georgia State (5-14, 2-7) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in set one, but the Warhawks wouldn't let them run away with the win and ULM triggered a five-point rally to pull ahead 9-8. With sophomore Lauren Appleman on the serve, the Warhawks recorded kills by senior Sarah Woods and red-shirt junior Catherine Griffith in an addition to a service ace by Appleman to take the lead.
 
The Panthers responded with a rally of their own to retake the lead. The two teams would go back and forth throughout the rest of the set, and with ULM ahead 24-19, GSU made a final attempt to steal the opening set from the Warhawks by Appleman closed out the set with a kill off an assist from senior Presleigh Williams. ULM would walk away with the first set, 25-23.
 
ULM (8-14, 1-8) led for the entirety of the second match, leading with a 5-0 start against Georgia State. The Warhawks took their biggest lead of set two, one of eight points, after two kills from Blasingame and a service ace from Griffith game ULM a stable 14-6 lead. ULM closed with back-to-back kills at the hands of freshman Kate Blasingame and senior Taylor Wood and would go on to win set two 25-22.
 
Friedland often has the Warhawks focusing on "their side of the net" and making sure they stick to their game plan first and foremost, on both offense and defense.
 
"We were able to execute our game plan well and translate a lot of what we worked on this week in practice into tonight's win. It was fun to watch."
 
The Warhawks trailed for a majority of the third set and trailing 24-17, it looked to be the end of set three, but ULM sparked its longest rally of the season, scoring nine straight points to take a 25-24 lead with the set-point in their sights. Unfortunately, three straight attack errors by the Warhawks gave the Panthers just enough motivation to regain the lead and pull-of the set win in a 27-25 decision.
 
The fourth set did not look to hold much promise for ULM, as Friedland called a timeout trailing 8-3 to gather his troops. The squad regrouped and slowly by surely notched away at Georgia State's lead. Now trailing 22-19, the Warhawks we able to shake the Panthers just enough to not only tie the match at 22-all, but go one to win the final six points of the match in a huge 25-22 victory.
 
The four-set match was ULM's fourth of the season, and second win as the Warhawks increase to 2-2 in four set matches and 4-4 at home. ULM's win is the first of its kind since November of 2016, the last home Sun Belt win for the Warhawks.
 
ULM greatly improved its overall performance in the win; after averaging a .097 hitting percentage, the Warhawks came out and put on an offensive show, with 58 kills and a .227 hitting percentage. ULM's 58 kills is a four-set high and second-best performance from the Warhawks this season.
 
Senior Tara Jenkins finished with four service aces. Jenkins' aces were four of ULM's eight total, a match high when playing Sun Belt teams this year.
 
Blasingame and Appleman both recorded double-doubles in the win. Appleman's first of the season, she registered 10 kills and 11 digs, while Blasingame tallied 14 kills and 18 digs, both season highs for the Plano, Texas native.
 
Freshman Cali Assaley also came up big-time for ULM tonight, recording her first double-digit kill performance of her collegiate career with 12 kills behind an impressive .286 hitting percentage.
 
"Kate, Cali and Lauren were huge for us tonight," Friedland said. "Katie was a beast in the back row and Taylor had a great night at the net. We had to work really hard for tonight and we were hungry for the win. We're going to have to do the same thing tomorrow night if we want a similar result. We're ready for it."
 
Junior transfer Katie McKay and Wood led the defensive duties for the Warhawks, as McKay managed 20 digs and Wood lined up six blocks in the win. Both McKay and Wood stepped up in crucial rallies to help ULM secure the point and maintain control of the match.
 
ULM will close out the weekend with another crucial match tomorrow, Friday Oct. 19, when Georgia Southern comes to town. The Warhawks and Eagles are slated for a 6:30 p.m. first serve.
 
"Our crowd was huge tonight," said Friedland. "We heard them from start to finish. They help carry the momentum from point to point and I hope to see even more come out tomorrow night after the pep rally which is taking place right in The Coliseum!"
 
Admission to all home volleyball matches is free of charge. Links to live video and stats are available at ULMWarhawks.com. Follow the Warhawks on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @ULM_VB to stay up to date on team happenings, schedule changes, live in-game updates, and much more.