MONROE, La. – First year head volleyball coach Russ Friedland has already tackled one of the biggest obstacles of any new coach, surpassing the previous year's win record. Tonight (Sept. 18), the ULM volleyball team swept Jackson State for its sixth win of the season, now heading into conference play at .500 on the season overall.
 
"We had some performances that need some adjustments, but overall, our energy got better, the crowd was great and we feed off of that," said Friedland. "But overall, really happy with our performance and excited to work for two more days and come back in here and hopefully people will come out and support us in conference play."
 
The win is not only ULM's fourth consecutive, but also the Warhawks' fourth-straight sweep. The Warhawks recently beat Grambling State on Friday (Sept. 14), right after defeating North Alabama and Tennessee Tech in the same fashion at the Tiger Invitational in Memphis.
 
Sophomore Lauren Appleman led all players with nine kills, while senior setter Presleigh Williams put up 12 assists for her teammates. Junior Albany Schaffer led the defensive efforts with 17 digs.
 
Senior middle blocker Taylor Wood and red-shirt junior Catherine Griffith each posted four blocks, aiding in ULM's 18 total blocks and nine team blocks.
 
With the help of Wood and Griffith at the net, the Warhawks held Jackson State to a hitting percentage of .000%, upholding ULM's reputation as one of the top defenses in the conference. The Lady Tigers unsuccessful offense yielded the lowest allowed by the Warhawks this season.
 
After dominating set one (25-18) and set two (25-12) wins, the Warhawks returned from the break struggling, finding themselves down in the count until ULM rallied back in order to regain the lead and hold onto the big win.
 
"I put the third set in the hands of our non-starters," said Friedland. "I trusted them to get the job done and despite a few bumps and bruises, they got the job done. It's good for them to fumble sometimes like that and learn and teach themselves how to get out of it to finish out the set and they did a really good job finishing it off."
 
ULM will return to Fant-Ewing on Friday, for match three of its four-game home series. The Warhawks play host to Sun Belt opponent Texas State, first serve is slated for 6:30 p.m.
 
"It's just a bigger stage now. It might be the same floor, but it's going to look a little bit different to us. The teams are going to be a little bit different on the other side. We'll start tomorrow preparing for Texas State," Friedland said.