MONROE, La. – After competing in five matches in a three-day stretch last week, the ULM beach volleyball team returns to action this weekend when it heads to Birmingham, Ala., to take part in the UAB Blazer Beach Bash on Feb. 28-29.
The two-day tournament will pit the Warhawks against host and Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) foe UAB of Friday, Feb. 28, at 10 a.m. ULM will return to the courts on Friday afternoon to square off against Eastern Kentucky at 2:30 p.m. The following day, the Warhawks will clash with Coastal Carolina (10:30 a.m.) and Nicholls State (3 p.m.).
ULM (0-5, 0-3 CCSA) has notched two wins in the first five matches of the season, both coming from the duo of
Grace Convey and
Julia Blazek. The Warhawk tandem, who have served as the No. 2 seeds in each of their first five matches, posted their first victory of the season (21-18, 21-19) against Tampa's Bri Civiero and Valerie Rosequist on Feb. 22. Two days later, in a clash versus Southern Miss' Piper Matsumoto and Madison Lawler, the ULM pair battled to a third-set win by scores of 21-15, 17-21, 15-12.
The Blazers (1-1, 0-1 CCSA) opened their season last weekend by splitting a pair of matches with North Alabama (W, 3-2) and Tulane (L, 4-1). UAB capitalized on wins by its No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5-seeded teams to earn the one-point win over the Lions. Two of those victories came in straight sets for the Blazers, however the third-seeded tandem of Arden Copping and Salli Napolitano claimed a three-set win.
Eastern Kentucky opens its 2020 season this weekend after finishing 2-13 in its inaugural season in 2019. The first win of program history came over Tusculum, 3-2, on March 31. The Colonels ended their season on a positive note with a 4-1 decision over Carson-Newman.
Coastal Carolina (3-1) begins the Blazer Beach Bash with matches against Eastern Kentucky and Nicholls State on Friday, Feb. 28. The Chanticleers opened the 2020 campaign with a weekend series against Catawba and UNC Wilmington on February 21 and February 22, respectively. Coastal Carolina posted back-to-back 5-0 wins over Catawba to open the season and rebounded from a 3-2 setback in the opening match against UNCW to split the series with the Seahawks with a 3-2 win in the second match.
Nicholls State begins the 2020 slate with a meeting against UAB at 1 p.m. before colliding with Coastal Carolina at 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28. The Colonels enter their second season of beach volleyball in search of their first program victory, after finishing 0-18 in 2019. Nicholls State was unable to capitalize on a pair of five-set matches in 2019, falling to both Huntingdon and Abilene Christian by 3-2 margins on March 2 and April 20, respectively.
