JONESBORO, Ark. – Arkansas State rallied late to claim the first set and used the momentum to claim early leads in the second and third sets as they swept the ULM volleyball team, 3-0 (26-24, 25-14, 25-19), Thursday at First National Bank Arena.
"Tonight, I thought we came out swinging," ULM head volleyball coach Charlie Olson said. "We had lots of long rallies and we found ways to terminate in the first set."
The first set was tightly contested. A-State led 5-3 early, but the Warhawks rallied back to take a 7-6 lead on back-to-back kills by senior Lauren Appelman. The Red Wolves regained the lead, but never led by more than three points.
ULM had several charges at taking the lead but could not break through until late in the set. With A-State leading 23-21, the Warhawks went on a 3-0 spurt with back-to-back kills by senior Alix Christie and a block from Christie and junior Cali Assaley to claim a 24-23 lead.
Out of an Arkansas State timeout, the Red Wolves turned the tide. A pair of blocks and an attack error by ULM gave A-State three straight points and the 26-24 win.
A-State kept the momentum rolling into the second set. The Red Wolves scored 11 of the first 13 points to take an 11-2 lead. The lead slowly increased to double-digits with A-State going ahead by 12 at 21-9. The Warhawks traded points with the Red Wolves over the final stretch of the set before falling, 25-14.
"When they pushed us back in the second set, we allowed them to do so," Olson said. "It was tough climbing out of an early hole, but we did manage to finish set two strong with some momentum going into set three."
In the final set, the Red Wolves grabbed control early, leading by as much as five at 10-5. The Warhawks battled back to close within three points at 13-10 and again at 14-11, the latter on a kill by Assaley. A-State stretched the lead back out to as much as six at 18-12 and kept control to a 25-19 victory to take the match, 3-0.
"Ultimately, we scored all the points, just too many for them and not enough for us," Olson said.
Senior Ina Gosen paced ULM with eight kills. Freshman Karson Davis had 18 assists. Sophomore Madeline Hogan tallied 18 digs.
"Tomorrow we will regroup and make some adjustments," Olson said. "We're looking forward for another chance to play and to come back to Monroe with a few wins and positive momentum going into the second half of conference play."
The Warhawks and Red Wolves wrap up the series with two matches on Friday. The two teams open the day at 11 a.m. and close the series at 6 p.m. at First National Bank Arena.
