MONROE, La. – The ULM volleyball team hosted the Troy Trojans for its Pink Out game to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness month on Saturday, October 6 but were unable to come up with a much-needed win, falling to the Trojans 3-1.
 
"Our passing improved tremendously today," said head coach Russ Friedland. "We were able to run our offense more efficiently, but we struggled to stop their middles on the defense and that hurt us. We will take some time and break this match down a little more and figure out what we need to change to keep moving forward with this conference schedule. We know it's not going to be easy and we're going to have to really buckle down and grind this week to prepare for next weekend in Arkansas.
 
ULM opened the match with another rhythm-less first set, committing 11 errors and earning only six kills. The Trojans managed the set one win with only eight kills, proving the effect of the miscues by ULM.
 
The Warhawks got their groove back in set two, recording a match-high 17 kills with only four errors. Their .317 hitting percentage would stand as a team-high for both ULM and Troy.
 
ULM jumped out to a 7-4 lead after a service ace from junior Albany Schaffer. The score would tie a total of six times before a the Warhawks sealed the deal behind the efforts of redshirt-junior Catherine Griffith who recorded the set-winning kill with the assist of senior Presleigh Williams.
 
"Cat was huge for us tonight," said Friedland. "With 15 attack attempts without a single error and five blocks, she was our anchor tonight." Griffith finished the night with nine kills, hitting for a sweet .600; of her five blocks, three were solo.
 
ULM and Troy went toe-to-toe for the remainder of the match. The Warhawks recover from a five point deficit in set three to tie it up at 14-14. Senior Sarah Woods and Griffith both contributed kills in the five-point rally.
 
The Trojans pulled ahead again and despite one last offensive effort with a kill from freshman Cali Assaley, the Warhawks fell in set three 25-19.
 
After outscoring Troy 6-1 mid-set in set four, the Warhawks had built a four-point lead and looked to close in on the win to force a fifth set. Unfortunately, a seven-point rally by the Trojans would give them a 21-18 lead that would hold until the end of the set. ULM dropped the fourth and final set in a 25-21 decision.
 
ULM finished the match with ten less kills than Troy (45-55), but recorded six service aces and ten blocks. The Warhawks ten blocks mark the third time this season they have dipped into the double-digits on the defense.
 
The Warhawks drop to 7-12 and 0-6 in Sun Belt play. The loss was the fourth straight for the Warhawks, and sixth in the last seven. ULM will be back on the road on Friday (Oct. 12) when they face Little Rock at 6:30 p.m. The Warhawks will hit Arkansas State on the following Saturday (Oct. 13) at 6:30 p.m. to round out their Arkansas trip.