NEW ORLEANS, La.- ULM entered day two of the New Orleans Invitational with two wins in their pocket, but couldn't come up with a third as they fell to North Dakota, 3-1.
"Overall, it was a really good weekend for us," head coach Charlie Olson said. "The team is starting to create their identity and a variety of players are stepping up to take on responsibility."
The Warhawks (2-1) jumped out to a good start in set one with a kill from Mikaela Worley off of an assist from McKinley Thiede to give ULM a 3-2 lead.
North Dakota (2-1) tried to regain the momentum, but an attack error by Darian Chwialkowski allowed the Warhawks to maintain the lead. ULM stayed on the attack to win set one, 25-20.
Set two started in favor of North Dakota with a kill by Ashley Brueggeman to give them the lead, 4-2. Minutes later, a service ace by Thiede allowed ULM to tie the set at nine. North Dakota turned up the pace and scored eight unanswered points to eventually win the set, 25-15.
North Dakota didn't let off the offensive during the third set, winning that set, 25-17. Early on in set four, Brueggeman launched a kill that would give North Dakota a 9-5 lead. However, the Warhawks weren't done. Two kills by Cali Assaley got ULM right back into the match. Worley would notch a kill to tie the set at 18. The attack from North Dakota was too much and they outlasted the Warhawks, 25-22.
"This isn't a sprint and we aren't looking to peak early in preseason," Olson said. "The team has a lot of positives in our corner and we will use them to our full advantage moving forward."
The Warhawks will travel to Grambling State on Monday for the I-20 rivalry match. The game will start at 6 p.m.
"We can walk away from the weekend with some outstanding film and small adjustments to make before we get back on the court against Grambling," Olson said.
Links to live coverage, including live stats, for Monday's game against Grambling State 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.
