MONROE, La. – The ULM volleyball team is head east, continuing Sun Belt play with Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina in its sights on Friday (Sept. 28) and Sunday (Sept. 30) respectively. The Warhawks will be looking for their first Sun Belt win after a five-set win over I-20 rival Louisiana Tech earlier this week (Sept. 25).
ULM (7-8, 0-2) fought hard Tuesday night in a 3-2 win over the Lady Techsters. Senior middle blocker
Taylor Wood finished with 15 kills, not only a career-high for the Phoenix, Arizona native, but also the first time she earned double-digit kills. The blocking machine also record nine blocks, adding to ULM's season-high 17 blocks against Louisiana Tech.
Wood currently ranks second in the conference with 1.44 blocks per set, while ULM ranks third among Sun Belt teams with 2.42 blocks per set. The 17 team blocks racked up against Louisiana Tech is ranked third for most team blocks in a match, ranking second in five-set matches.
Also aiding in the Warhawks' all-star defense is junior defensive specialist
Albany Schaffer. Schaffer helped ULM seal the deal on Tuesday night with a career-high 31 digs, surpassing her previous high by 12 digs.
Appalachian State (10-4, 2-0) is one of the more aggressive teams in the Sun Belt, coming in only second to Texas State in kills (14.09 per set). App State does lead the conference in one category, that being service aces, in which the Mountaineers average 1.64 per set.
At the top for App State is sophomore middle blocker Kara Spicer. Spicer has accumulated 134 kills this season, averaging 2.73 kills per set behind a .323 hitting percentage. Spicer has hit double-digit kill numbers in five different matches, including a 19-kill performance in a 3-2 loss to Utah Valley earlier this month.
The Mountaineers have been off for six days, after four straight wins, including two weekend wins over conference opponents Georgia Southern (3-0) and Georgia State (3-2).
The Warhawks and Mountaineers have a similar opponent in Mississippi State, who ULM fans can easily remember was defeated by ULM on its home court, 3-1, in just the second match of the season. Appalachian State was swept by the Bulldogs, held to 44 kills and only four team blocks.
On Sunday, ULM will turn its attention to Coastal Carolina (1-7, 0-0), who will be opening up Sun Belt play have Tropical Storm Florence postponed its previous matches.
The Chanticleers saw their only win come against Furman (Aug. 25), in a 3-1 decision. Since the win, Coastal has only won three of 21 sets played. CCU nearly upset Cincinnati on Sept. 8, but ended up falling 3-2 to the Bearcats, it marked the sixth-straight loss for Coastal Carolina.
Freshman opposite, Anett Nemeth stands at 6'3" and is currently second in the Sun Belt for kills, with 113 kills in 30 sets, Nemeth is averaging 3.77 kills per set.
Teammate Dora Lulic is fifth-most efficient conference player at the net, hitting .338 on average. Warhawk
Catherine Griffith currently ranks 10
th in the same category.
Last season, ULM dropped both matches against Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State in the midst of 13-match losing streak.
Friday's match at Appalachian State will begin at 5:30 p.m. (CT) and will be available to watch and follow with live stats. Sunday's match at Coastal Carolina will begin at 11:30 p.m. (CT) and will also be live streamed with live stats. Links to both can be found at ULMWarhawks.com.
Follow the Warhawks on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @ULM_VB to stay up to date on team happenings, schedule changes, live in-game updates, and much more.
