MONROE, La. – Ina Gosen paced the ULM volleyball team with 11 kills and a hitting percentage of .524 on the way to a 3-0 sweep over Jackson State on Wednesday night in Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
"We played against a team that we had very little footage on," head coach Charlie Olson said. "We had a simple game plan going in and we executed well."
Three Warhawks (11-15, 1-9 Sun Belt) hit over .300 against the Lady Tigers (15-16, 11-3 SWAC). Gosen was joined by Kathryn Raschilla, who hit .357, and Alix Christie, who hit .353. McKinley Thiede and Darby Fisher combined for 37 assists, Kate Blasingame led the team with two service aces and 16 digs and Christie led the team with four block assists.
"The big theme going into the match was to play with confidence no matter what and to finish," Olson said.
Three straight kills by Gosen gave ULM a 5-2 lead in set one. A service ace by Jylen Whitten tied the set up at six before Jackson State took control and took a 10-9 lead.
A kill by Cali Assaley put the Warhawks up 15-14 before the two teams traded points back and forth. Raschilla nailed a kill to give ULM a 20-19 lead and the Warhawks didn't look back. ULM won set one, 25-21.
A kill by Christie gave ULM its first point of set two and a kill by Mikaela Worley tied the set up at three. The Lady Tigers pulled away with a 13-9 lead, but Assaley was able to put the Warhawks back on track with a kill. Back-to-back errors by Jackson State allowed ULM to take a 14-13 lead and a kill by Blasingame added to ULM's point total.
The Lady Tigers bounced back and took a 20-19 lead, but the Warhawks went on a 6-1 scoring run to close out set two, 25-21.
Jackson State jumped out to a 5-2 lead to start set three, but a kill by Gosen stopped the Lady Tiger momentum and a service ace by Fisher gave ULM a 6-5 lead. Jackson State again took control and raced to a 12-9 lead.
"Jackson State played to their strengths and were scrappy," Olson said.
Blasingame nailed a kill and a service ace to put the Warhawks back in the lead, 14-13. ULM went on a 4-1 scoring run before the Lady Tigers called a timeout. The Warhawks stayed in control for the rest of the set and another service ace by Blasingame gave ULM a set three win, 25-20.
"It's always good getting back in the win column," Olson said. "They pushed us at times, but we stuck to what we do well and we got the job done."
The Warhawks will remain at home for senior weekend with a 6 p.m. matchup on Friday against Texas State followed by a noon matchup on Sunday against UT Arlington. Both games will take place in Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
Links to live coverage, including video and stats, for Friday's game against Texas State and Sunday's game against UT Arlington 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.
