MONROE, La. – The ULM volleyball team heads north this weekend (Aug. 31) to Cape Girardeau, Missouri for the Redhawk Invitational hosted by Southeast Missouri State University. In addition to the Redhawks, the Warhawks will face the Lady Demons of Northwestern State and the Radford Highlanders.
ULM is coming off on the best season starts since 2010, after a 2-1 mark at the StarkVegas Classic at Mississippi State. The Warhawks took down SEC opponent, Mississippi State in 3-1 fashion before closing out the weekend with a sweep of Mississippi Valley State.
Senior middle blocker
Taylor Wood returned to Monroe selected to the StarkVegas All-Tournament team. 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.
Senior teammate
Catherine Griffith also saw success in Starkville, putting down 14 blocks against MVSU, a weekend high for the Warhawks. Freshman
Kate Blasingame also had an outstanding offense performance, including her first collegiate double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs against Mississippi State. Blasingame currently leads the Warhawks with 27 kills.
ULM will face three talented programs this weekend, with the first tournament game against Southeast Missouri on Friday at 12:30 p.m. Friday's meeting will be the first between the Warhawks and Redhawks.
SEMO brings a confident filled squad to the tournament this weekend, boasting a hefty 4-0 record with not a single set lost. The team returns from an 11-win 2017 season with eight upperclassmen and eight sophomores and freshmen.
Leading the Redhawks offensively is Madara Bajare, who has tallied 33 kills over the teams' four sweeps. Backing up on the defensive side of the ball is Maggie Adams and Haley Bilbruck who had 19 and 18 total blocks respectively.
Redhawk Claire Ochs has accumulated 109 of SEMO's 129 assists, the 5'10 freshman setter has had no less than 24 assists in a match this season.
Friday afternoon, at 4:30 p.m. the Warhawks will match-up with the Highlanders of Radford. Radford, like SEMO, is starting out the Redhawk Invitational with an unblemished record.
Radford traveled to Baltimore, Maryland where it took down Towson, Siena, and host team Loyola. The Highlanders faced their biggest match in Towson. The 3-2 win for Radford came with a set five win after dropping sets one and four. Radford had three players with double-digit kills, including freshman Taylor O'Neal, junior Stephanie Neast, and senior Valeria Gonzalez.
Gonzalez leads her team with six service aces, a category in which the Highlanders have the biggest leg-up on their opponents, outnumbering opponents 19-8 in said category.
ULM will compete against in-state foe Northwestern State on Saturday (Sept. 1) at 11 a.m. The Lady Demons travel to Missouri with a 1-2 record in tow.
The Warhawks hold an advantage in the series history, with 33 wins through 59 meetings that date back to 1976.
Last year, NSU defeated ULM in a 3-2 decision. The five-set thriller included a 25-22 set two win and a 27-25 set four win to push the fifth set. Of the 2018 crew, Griffith led the group with eight kills and three service aces in the loss.
NSU's one win was against Jackson State, in a mid-week match in Natchitoches on Tuesday (Aug. 28). The Lady Demons defeated JSU 3-0.
Senior outside hitter Reagan Rogers leads Northwestern State with 31 kills, averaging 3.44 kills per set. In 2017, Rogers led the Lady Demons with 427 kills, helping them to a 15-17 season record.
All matches at the Redhawk Invitational will be held at the Houck Field House. Links to live stats and video are available at ULMWarhawks.com. Fans are encouraged to follow along with the action on Twitter at @ULM_VB for live, in-game updates. Complete box score and match recap will be available at ULMWarhawks.com shortly following each match.
