MONROE, La. – The ULM volleyball team is slated for its final weekend of the 2018 season this Friday (Nov. 9) and Saturday (Nov. 10). The Warhawks will play host one last time, to visiting west division foes, Arkansas State and Little Rock. Prior to Saturday's match against Little Rock ULM's four seniors,
Taylor Wood,
Tara Jenkins,
Presleigh Williams, and
Sarah Woods, will be honored with a senior dedication ceremony.
Friday's opponent, Arkansas State (16-11, 8-6) has already defeated the Warhawks once this season. ULM faced the Red Wolves in Jonesboro earlier this year, falling 3-0 to ASU. Arkansas State controlled a majority of the first and second set, and despite an aggressive third set push by the Warhawks, ULM was unable to overcome the deficit.
ASU is led by, senior outside hitter Carlisa May. May posted 14 kills in the series match-up in October and is currently averaging 4.70 kills per set against conference opponents. May is followed by freshman Macey Putt who is logging 2.87 kills per set in Sun Belt play. May and Putt are the only two Red Wolves averaging more than two kills per set.
Comparatively, the Warhawks boast three players who are averaging 2.0 kills per set or more, leading with junior
Mikaela Worley (2.60), redshirt-junior
Catherine Griffith (2.29), and freshman
Kate Blasingame (2.11).
Blasingame and Griffith also play crucial parts in the Warhawks defense. Blasingame currently ranks second on the team in digs with 266, just behind junior transfer
Katie McKay (270). Griffith's role on defense as a blocker has helped ULM tremendously in key matches. Blasingame and Griffith led the Warhawks in digs and blocks respectively the last time they played Saturday's opponent, Little Rock.
ULM and Little Rock last met on Oct.12, when the Trojans took down the Warhawks in 3-0 fashion. ULM managed no more than 18 points in a set despite hitting one of their cleanest games with only 14 errors. The Trojans did put 20 additional attacks into action and although the Warhawks matched Little Rock with eight team blocks, LR still walked away with the win.
Little Rock (16-11, 8-6) has a more diverse roster, one designed like ULM's in which multiple players excel in each position, with more than one athlete highlighting the stat sheet. The Trojans have two players with 250 kills or more on the season, and two other hitting .387 at the net. Mya Ronbinson leads the squad with 2.58 kills per set, while teammates Veronica Marin and Carol Barbosa each carry the .387 hitting percentage into the final weekend of the regular season.
Defensively, Little Rock looks to Sydnee Martin, who has recorded 388 digs this year, averaging 3.66 per set. Trojan Marin ranks just above Warhawk
Taylor Wood in blocks; Marin is averaging 1.59 blocks per set while Wood is averaging 1.22.
Both the Red Wolves and the Trojans are traveling to Monroe after dropping their most recent matches. ASU fell to UT-Arlington in a sweep on Sunday (Nov. 4) while LR dropped a 3-2 decision to Sun Belt Conference Champion Texas State on Saturday (Nov. 3).
Arkansas State and Little Rock are tied for third-place in the West Division, meaning their fates are in the hands of the Warhawks and also the Ragin' Cajuns as the Arkansas teams make one last weekend round in Louisiana. The Ragin' Cajuns have a chance to secure a spot at the tournament if both ULM and ULL sweep both Arkansas State and Little Rock this weekend.
Both Friday and Saturday's matches will be broadcasted on the Warhawks All-Access Page. Admission to all home matches is free of charge. Links to live stats and video for this weekends' matches 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.
