RUSTON, La. – A win always feels better than a loss, but a win over in-state rival Louisiana Tech has a certain added sweetness about it. On Tuesday, Sept. 25 the ULM volleyball team traveled to Louisiana Tech for a mid-week non-conference match up, and defeated the Lady Techsters in a heart-racing five-set thriller.
 
"So proud of this team for pulling off a big win on the road tonight," said first year head volleyball coach Russ Friedland. "We did a great job following the game plan and really going after LA Tech. It was nice to see us come together and win as a team."
 
The Warhawks and Lady Techsters played an even keeled first set, but ULM's 15 kills to Louisiana Tech's 11 was all it needed to earn a slim 25-23 set victory.
 
The tables were turned in set two, with Louisiana Tech taking control of the court and forcing nine miscues by the Warhawks.  ULM managed a mere .023 attack percentage in set two, giving the Lady Techsters all the leverage they needed to win set two, 25-20.
 
Together, the Warhawks record a season-high 93 digs, 62 kills, 59 assists, and 17 blocks. Adding to the record night was senior Taylor Wood and juniors Catherine Griffith and Mikaela Worley. The trio combined for 49 of ULM's 62 blocks and 21 blocks.
 
"We had some huge performances tonight. Both middles, Cat & Taylor had dominating nights with 32 combined kills and 16 combined blocks. Mikaela came alive tonight and was really consistent for us on the pin."
 
On the floor, defensive specialist Albany Schaffer had a stellar night. With 31 digs, Schaffer's performance currently ranks third most digs in five-sets among the Sun Belt.
 
"Albany was lights out tonight," Friedland said. "31 is a big number for digs. We adjusted our defense half way through the match and she responded really well to the change. The whole team did."
 
Set three fell back in favor of ULM, after trailing 6-2 to start the set, back-to-back kills by Wood and Worley would spark a scoring rally in which the Warhawks out-scored Louisiana Tech, 8-1. Now leading 10-7, the Lady Techsters called a timeout, but ULM stayed in the zone and kicked off the return from the break with another five straight points.
 
The Warhawks would go on to win set three, 25-17. The set point came behind the effort of sophomore Lauren Apple man who, with the assist from freshman McKinley Thiede, recorded a huge kill to secure the set-three win.
 
Set four would be the chance for ULM to lock down the win with another set victory, but Louisiana Tech didn't have any plans on letting the Warhawks out of Ruston that easily. The Lady Techsters and Warhawks tied four times throughout the set, but Louisiana Tech came out on top, 25-17.
 
Now tied at two sets each, the tension was rising in Ruston. ULM and Louisiana Tech would continuously trade serves early in set five, but only once during the set did the Warhawks allow the Lady Techsters to score two consecutive points.

ULM maintained control of the fifth set and with four kills, from Griffith, Appleman, and senior Sarah Woods, the Warhawks rallied into a fifth-set 15-10 win over the Lady Techsters.
 
"I loved having our entire administration, the ULM beach team and some additional fans come out to Ruston tonight," said Friedland. "That's huge on the road to have supporters in our corner. We heard them and that definitely earned at least a few points for us emotionally."
 
"Overall I'm just proud to lead this team. They fight so hard for each other and it's fun to see them rewarded for their grit."