MONROE, La. – Another hard fought battle for the ULM volleyball team and unfortunately another loss on the schedule. The Warhawks rallied back from a 25-6 set one loss to challenge South Alabama late in both sets two and three, but ultimately fell to the Jaguars, 3-0.
 
The loss set ULM back to 7-11 overall, 0-5 in conference play. The Warhawks will face Troy tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 6 in hopes of winning their first Sun Belt match.
 
Set one wasn't pretty for ULM, managing only three kills and committing nine errors. The Warhawks hit for -.273 through 22 total attempts at the USA defense.
 
Set two saw a huge improvement from the Warhawks, who recorded over four times the number of kills in set one, finishing with 13 kills on 34 attempts.
 
"After set one, I saw us respond well and really push against a really solid South Alabama team," said head volleyball coach Russ Friedland. "We got some unlucky breaks and didn't end up with the set wins, but there are good things that we can take from today and build on."
 
ULM, trying to avoid the sweep, put forth a valiant effort in set three, tying the Jaguars nine times and forcing four lead changes. Despite ULM's aggressive third-set push, South Alabama recorded 16 kills and the Warhawks were unable to post any blocks in set three, leading to the Jaguars 25-21, set three win.
 
11 of ULM's 28 total kills came at the hands of junior Mikaela Worley. Worley, who missed most of non-conference play due to injury, was the only player in the match with double-digit kills. After tonight's loss, Worley is leading the Warhawks with 2.77 kills per set.
 
Redshirt-junior Catherine Griffith and freshman Kate Blasingame added four kills apiece to ULM's stat sheet as well.
 
Freshman setter McKinley Thiede tallied 13 assists, just ahead of senior Presleigh Williams who contributed 10 assists.
 
"We had some major step-up performances tonight from Mikaela, Kate and McKinley," said Friedland. "We're not happy with what we showed tonight and know we can be better. We will take the good from today and transfer it into tomorrow's matchup with Troy. We need to bring more and we know it."
 
The Warhawks and Jaguars all-time series continues to lean in favor of USA after its win (12-7). ULM has now lost five of the last six meetings between the two teams.
 
ULM will return to Fant-Ewing tomorrow, Oct. 6 to host Sun Belt opponent Troy. First-serve is set for 6:30 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear pink and join the Warhawks as they celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month to honor those who have fought, are still fighting, and to support breast cancer research and awareness. Free cupcakes will be available to all fans after set one.
 
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