MONROE, La. – Its back on the road for the ULM Warhawk beach volleyball team, this time, its bus is headed east, to Atlanta, Georgia. The Hawks will face Jacksonville State, Mercer, North Florida, and Georgia State on Friday and Saturday (Mar.23-24) in Georgia States Diggin' Duals.
ULM is coming off an 0-3 trip to Birmingham, closing out UAB's Blazer Beach Duals with a close 2-3 loss to then-No.17 Tulane. The Warhawks fought hard against UCA as well, claiming wins on two of the five courts on Friday (Mar.16).
Graduate student
Rebecca Brown and junior
Catherine Griffith continue to lead the Warhawks in the sand, standing at 9-2 on the season.
First on the docket for the Warhawks is Jacksonville State. The Warhawks and Gamecocks will face each other for the second time this season on Friday (Mar.23) at 12 noon. ULM defeated JSU earlier this year (Mar.3) at the UNO Beach Volleyball Invitational, where they took down the Gamecocks in a 5-0 sweep.
Jacksonville State is currently 7-60 through all games, with its only match win coming against Huntingdon earlier this month (Mar.13). The Gamecocks have four players with at least five game wins.
Friday afternoon, ULM will face Mercer University at 4 p.m. Mercer too, participated in the Blazer Beach Duals though the two teams did not play each other. Mercer finished 1-4 on the weekend, falling 0-5 to then-No.17 Tulane and UCA on opening day (Mar.16).
Mercer (5-4) finished the 2017 season at 15-12, including a 4-1 win over ULM. Junior
Bailey Smith and sophomore
Grace Convey took home the Warhawks only game win that day, defeating Bears Demi-Shay Watchorn and Jessica Johnson in straight sets (22-20, 21-13).
ULM will start day two of the Diggin' Duals will an 8 a.m. match against North Florida. The Warhawks last played the Ospreys in 2016, dropping the road match 1-4 on Wheeler Beach at the Carolina Classic.
The Ospreys (4-5) opened up their 2018 season with a 3-0 sweep at the Webber International Tournament in Florida, claiming 4-1 wins over University of Tampa, Webber International, and Southeastern University.
North Florida's Courtney Miller and Brittany Pase are rolling into Georgia on a three-game win streak, with three straight wins in the number two spot. Casey Justice and Madilyn McCarty are also entering the duals after three-wins, walking away with their wins on court three.
The Warhawks will wrap up play in Atlanta with host-team No.9 Georgia State on Saturday (Mar.24) at 12 noon. The Panthers 12-5 this season with big wins over ranked LSU (10), Stetson (17), and Florida Atlantic (20).
ULM faced Georgia State in 2017, falling to the Panthers 2-3 at LSU's Battle on the Bayou. Warhawks Brown and Griffith defeated GSU's Georgia Johnson and Olivia Stasevich in three sets (17-21, 21-17, 15-8) in the loss.
Georgia State is currently led by veteran graduates Teegan Van Gunst and Tiffany Creamer, who have dominated the number one spot 9-2. Graduate Annika Van Gunst and junior Brooke Weiner have seen similar success on court two, coming in at 9-2 overall as well.
Reminder to all fans, times listed are in central time, as the Warhawks will be competing in eastern time at GSU. Fans are encouraged to follow the Sandyhawks throughout their season on Twitter at @ULM_beachVB and on Instagram at @ULM_VB.
