MONROE, La. – The ULM volleyball team opens the 2020 season Friday and Saturday at the Stephen F. Austin Invitational at Shelton Gym in Nacogdoches, Texas. The Warhawks are scheduled to face Lamar at 10:30 a.m. Friday, SFA at 6:30 p.m. Friday and Houston Baptist at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
"We're excited to compete against quality programs," ULM head coach Charlie Olson said. "They're itching to play, too."
Prior to ULM (12-20 in 2019), Olson spent five-and-a-half years as an assistant coach at Sam Houston State in the Southland Conference. He said Shelton Gym can be a tough place to play.
"It's a rowdy, rowdy gym," Olson said. "Thank goodness, they're only going to be at 50 percent capacity. We're going to use that to our advantage, go in there and play free."
Olson said his team will use the weekend to focus on themselves and improving ahead of Sun Belt Conference play.
"It's still non-conference play, so we get to try some new things and focus on our side of the net," Olson said. "I don't think we're going to go in and scout too much, overthink too much. Let's just get better."
The Warhawks open with Lamar (9-17 in 2019) at 10:30 a.m. Friday. The two teams met last season at the Katrinka Crawford Invitational at Lamar, with the Cardinals posting a 3-0 victory. ULM has won three of the last four meetings in the series.
ULM then faces SFA (1-1) at 6:30 p.m. Friday and will be streamed on ESPN+. It marks the 48th all-time meeting between the Warhawks and Ladyjacks, but ULM has won just once in Nacogdoches against SFA. The Ladyjacks won the last meeting between the two schools in 2018.
The weekend wraps up at 10:30 a.m. Saturday against Houston Baptist (0-2). It is just the fifth meeting between ULM and HBU. The Huskies lead the series 4-0. Saturday's match is the third neutral site match between the two sides.
Links to the ESPN+ match against SFA and live stats are available on the volleyball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com.
