MONROE, La. – Alix Christie led the ULM Volleyball squad with a hitting percentage of .429 and ended the night with seven kills, but it wasn't enough as the Warhawks fell to Texas State, 3-0, on Friday at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
"I'm proud of us tonight," head coach Charlie Olson said. "In sets one and three, we were a completely different team than we've been all year."
Ina Gosen got the first point of the night for ULM (11-16, 1-10 Sun Belt) with a kill, but the Bobcats (19-7, 11-1 Sun Belt) quickly bounced back and jumped out to a 6-3 lead. The Warhawks fought back and a service ace by Madeline Hogan combined with back-to-back attack errors by Texas State gave ULM a 10-9 lead.
The Bobcats again took the lead, but a kill by Christie tied the set up 17. Minutes later, Gosen nailed another kill to give the Warhawks a 19-18 lead. The two teams kept the score close, but a kill by Cheyenne Huskey gave Texas State a 23-22 lead. ULM couldn't overcome the attack and a kill by Janell Fitzgerald gave the Bobcats a 25-22 set one win.
"Huskey is a potential player of the year candidate and she showed up tonight, as she always does," Olson said. "Fitzgerald got some good points early on, but we made the adjustment to slow her down."
Texas State jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in set two, however, kills by Mikaela Worley and Lauren Appelman, followed by an ace by Gosen tied the set up at three. The Warhawks battled with the Bobcats throughout the beginning of the set and a kill by Kate Blasingame tied the set up at 10.
Texas State went on a 10-1 scoring run to give the Bobcats a 20-11 lead. Kills by Appelman and Cali Assaley attempted to keep ULM in the fight, but Texas State overwhelmed the Warhawks and won set two, 25-15.
"I think we had a lack of confidence in set two," Olson said.
Blasingame earned the first point of set three with a kill, but the Bobcats took a slight lead before a kill by Christie tied the set up at five. Two kills by Assaley and a kill by Darby Fisher gave ULM an 8-5 lead. Texas State returned fire and overtook the Warhawks, 12-9.
"Alix has been feeling pretty good in the middle lately and our setters gave her a chance," Olson said.
The Warhawks battled back and a service ace by Fisher tied the set up at 15 and back-to-back errors by the Bobcats gave ULM a 17-15 lead. Texas State went back on the attack and regained the lead and rolled on to a 24-22 lead.
With the match on the line, Worley gained a kill to keep the Warhawks alive. An attack error by Fitzgerald tied the set up at 24, but the Bobcats stayed in control and won set three 26-24.
"For the remainder of the year, we will leave it all on the court and play for each other, especially for our seniors," Olson said. "We're excited we get to honor our seniors on Sunday because they've given it their all and it's an honor to honor them.
ULM will host senior day at noon on Sunday against UT Arlington.
Links to live coverage, including video and stats, for 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.
