STARKVILLE, Miss. – After helping guide the ULM volleyball team to a 2-1 finish at Mississippi State's StarkVegas Classic, senior middle blocker
Taylor Wood was selected to the StarkVegas All-Tournament Team.
Head coach
Russ Friedland kicked-off his first year at the helm of ULM's volleyball program with an impressive showing at the tournament, including a big 3-1 match win over SEC opponent Mississippi State and a weekend ending sweep of Mississippi Valley State on Saturday (Aug. 25).
"I'm happy for Taylor to receive this recognition of her hard work," Friedland said. "She was a wall this weekend and helped our team to three great blocking performances. She did more than what shows up on the scoresheet, helping our defense set up in the right spot to dig and getting some great touches at the net to help slow the ball down."
Wood closed out the weekend with a team high 16 blocks, three of which were solo. With Wood at the net, ULM out-blocked opponents 29.5 to 12.5 over the three matches.
The Warhawks relied heavily on teamwork and technical skill to defeat their opponents in Starkville. Overall, ULM tallied seven solo blocks compared to the oppositions' three and a whopping 45 assists compared to the oppositions' 19.
"Taylor was also a force offensively. We've been focusing a lot on the middles in practice, and all three on our roster had great outings this weekend," said Friedland.
Friedland's other middle blockers include freshman
Karlee Wilkerson and sophomore
Alix Christie. Both played crucial roles in the Warhawks' success this weekend, laying down big kills that allowed ULM to maintain control of the court.
ULM returns to Monroe for practice this week before catching the bus to Missouri for Southeast Missouri's Redhawk Invitational that begins on Friday, Aug. 31.
