MONROE, La. – After a tough road weekend, the ULM Warhawks are set for another road trip to Georgia to take on Georgia Southern at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday and Georgia State at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
"It's a short week," head coach Charlie Olson said. "We're going to maintain our focus and focus more on ourselves."
ULM (9-12, 0-6 Sun Belt) will be led by Mikaela Worley and Kate Blasingame. Worley is averaging 3.26 kills per set and Blasingame is averaging 2.77 kills per set and leads the team with 21 service aces.
McKinley Thiede and Darby Fisher will once again be the two setters for the Warhawks. Thiede is averaging 5.46 assists per set and Fisher is averaging 4.20 assists per set. Albany Schaffer leads the team with 3.52 digs per set. Alix Christie leads the team with 45 blocks.
First up for ULM is Georgia Southern on Thursday. The Eagles (6-11, 1-5 Sun Belt) are coming off of three consecutive sweep losses to South Alabama, UT Arlington and Texas State.
"Georgia Southern is like us, they're hungry," Olson said. "It's our job to go in there and stay energized and focused."
Georgia Southern is led by Carly Turner, who leads the team with 156 kills for an average of 2.64 kills per set. Turner will be joined by Madison Brown, who is averaging 9.07 assists per set and also leads the team with 15 service aces.
Other key players include Landon Jones, who leads the team with 4.31 digs per set and Baylor Bumford, who has 47 blocks.
After a showdown with the Eagles, the Warhawks will take on Georgia State on Friday. The Panthers (6-11, 2-4 Sun Belt) were swept by Texas State, but defeated UT Arlington in five sets, 3-2.
"Both of these teams are very competitive," Olson said. "There's no such thing as an easy match in our conference."
Georgia State is led by libero Lauren Bandera, who has 319 digs and is averaging 4.62 digs per set. Bandera will be joined by Sydney Stroud, who leads the team in kills with an average of 2.59 kills per set.
Other key players include setters Kampbell Hehr and Jordan Shoemaker. Hehr is averaging 6.98 assists per set and Shoemaker is averaging 4.65 assists per set. Dzemila Hadzic has 24 service aces on the season and Meisheia Griffin leads the team with 76 blocks.
"Griffin is feeling pretty good about herself right now," Olson said. "It's our job to not find her in the block."
Links to live coverage, including video and stats, for each game can be found on the volleyball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com. Follow along with all things Warhawk Volleyball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @ULM_VB.
