ULM Warhawks

MONROE, La. - ULM volleyball returns to the court at 11 a.m. Friday in the Sun Belt Conference opener at Texas State. Due to Sun Belt scheduling adjustments with the COVID-19 pandemic, each weekend will feature multiple matches with the same opponent. ULM and Texas State are set to meet three times this weekend, with additional matches at 6 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday at Strahan Arena in San Marcos.

FOLLOW THE WARHAWKS
You can watch the 6 p.m. match on Friday and the 1 p.m. contest on Saturday on ESPN+. All three matches will be available on live stats at TXStateBobcats.com. A direct link to both ESPN+ and live stats is available on the volleyball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com. Twitter updates will be available on the official Twitter page of the Warhawks, @ULM_VB.

A LOOK AHEAD
Following the weekend in San Marcos, the Warhawks will open the home schedule at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2 against the Ragin' Cajuns in Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The two rivals will also meet at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3. ULM and the Ragin' Cajuns will meet for another weekend set on Oct. 30-31 in Lafayette.

SERIES HISTORY
• Texas State leads the all-time series with ULM, 46-2.
• The Bobcats have won 15 straight matches in the series. ULM last defeated the Bobcats, 3-2, on Nov. 11, 2005, in Monroe.
• ULM's only other win in series history was a 3-2 victory on Oct. 11, 2002, in Monroe.
• Out of the 48 meetings between the two schools, 45 are conference matches. The two schools have met as conference opponents in the Southland Conference (1987-2005) and Sun Belt Conference (2013-present).

RECAP
ULM opened the 2020 season at the SFA Invitational in Nacogdoches, Texas, on Sept. 11-12. The Warhawks knocked off Lamar in the season-opener, 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-23, 25-18), on Sept. 11. SFA swept the Warhawks, 3-0 (25-8, 25-19, 25-11), on Sept. 11. ULM wrapped up the weekend with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-21) loss to Houston Baptist on Sept. 12. Haley Coulter led the Warhawks on the weekend 33 kills and 54 digs. Her best performance came against Lamar, where she posted a career-high 21 kills and added 23 digs. For her efforts on the weekend, Coulter was named Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week.

RECAP OF THE LAST MATCH WITH TEXAS STATE
Alix Christie led ULM with a .429 hitting percentage and tallied seven kills, but the Warhawks fell to Texas State, 3-0, on Nov. 1, 2019, at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
Texas State claimed a 6-3 lead in the first set, but ULM rallied to gain a 10-9 lead. The two sides battled back-and-forth as Ina Gosen's kill gave ULM a 19-18 lead. Cheyenne Huskey's kill put the Bobcats ahead for good in the set at 23-22, as they went on to the 25-22 victory.

The second set was tied 10 before the Bobcats embarked on a 10-1 run as they pulled away for the 25-15 win.

The final set was like the first. ULM took an early 8-5 lead off a pair of kills by Cali Assaley and another from Darby Fisher. Texas State battled back for a 12-9 lead before ULM rallied to regain a 17-15 lead on back-to-back Bobcat errors. Texas State surged again, eventually regaining a 24-22 lead. A kill by Mikaela Worley and an attack error kept the match alive at 24-all. The Bobcats responded with the next two points to take the set, 26-24, and the match, 3-0.

RECAP OF THE LAST MATCH WITH TEXAS STATE IN SAN MARCOS
The ULM Warhawks wrapped up their Texas road trip on Sept. 29, 2019, with a 3-0 loss at Texas State.

Texas State used a pair of spurts to gain control of the first two sets. Texas State used a 6-0 run in each set to gain separation, cruising to a 25-13 win in the first set and 25-17 victory in the second set.

In the third set, ULM led 6-4 off a kill by Ina Gosen before Texas State battled back. The Bobcats used a 4-0 spurt to pull away and held on for the 25-19 win in the third set to take the match, 3-0.

WARHAWKS ON THE ROAD
ULM is 0-1 in true road matches in 2020 following Friday's 3-0 loss to Stephen F. Austin. The Warhawks were 4-10 on the road in 2019, picking up wins at New Orleans, Grambling State, Georgia Southern and Little Rock. ULM has won two of its last three road matches. The Warhawks have never beaten South Alabama in Mobile.

COULTER DOMINANT IN FIRST WEEKEND AS A WARHAWK
Senior Haley Coulter, a transfer from Division II Angelo State, made a strong impression in her first weekend as a Warhawk. Coulter, who played two seasons for the Rambelles after playing her freshman season at Tulsa in 2016, set a new career-high with 21 kills in the season-opener against Lamar. Her previous career-high was 16 kills, set least season with Angelo State. She hit .283 for the match. 13 of Coulter's 21 kills came across the final two sets. With the match tied at 1 and Lamar leading late in the third set, Coulter came through with three of ULM's final five points to give the Warhawks the set. She built off the momentum in the fourth set as the Warhawks scored five straight points early in the set with Coulter on the service line. Coulter closed the match with four kills in ULM's final five points to take the 3-1 decision. On top of her 21 kills, Coulter tallied 23 digs in the win. The 23 digs rank as the second-most in her career after coming up with 25 digs for Angelo State in a Lone Star Conference Tournament semifinal match against Arkansas-Fort Smith in November 2019. 

Coulter played well in the final two matches of the weekend, picking up three kills and 18 digs against SFA and led the Warhawks with nine kills and 13 digs vs. Houston Baptist. Coulter has 33 kills (3.3 per set), 54 digs (5.4 per set) and five blocks through the first three matches.

JORDAN LEADS FRESHMEN ON OPENING WEEKEND
Freshman Chloe Jordan earned the starting nod in all three matches on opening weekend. The 5-6 libero from Pearland, Texas, was second on the Warhawks with 38 digs (3.8 per set). She also had just two reception errors in 43 attempts and was second on the team with a .953 reception percentage. Jordan topped double-digit digs in all three matches, opening with 18 in her collegiate debut against Lamar and adding 10 each against SFA and Houston Baptist. Jordan also added four assists.

GRIFFITH EFFICIENT ON OPENING WEEKEND
ULM senior Catherine Griffith returns for her sixth season as a Warhawk in 2020. On opening weekend, Griffith started all three matches and picked up 18 kills (1.8 per set). She was efficient on her swings, making just three errors on 45 attacks for a .333 hitting percentage, which leads the team. Griffith also picked up a pair of service aces and tallied four block assists to finish with 22 points over the three matches, ranking second on the team.

Griffith arrived at ULM in 2015 and sat out the season with an injury. Another injury forced the Raleigh, N.C., native to miss the 2019 season. Griffith enters the 2020 season as ULM's active career leader in matches played (93), started (87), kills (609) and total blocks (233). In 2018, Griffith led the Warhawks in kills (235) and attack percentage (.286).

APPELMAN AND CHRISTIE BACK AS FOURTH-YEAR SENIORS
Seniors Lauren Appelman and Alix Christie look to build off successful 2019 seasons. 

Appelman, a senior outside hitter from Chula Vista, California, averaged 1.40 kills per set in 2019, but her .157 hitting percentage was the best of her career. 

Christie, a senior middle blocker from Beachville, Ontario, set several career highs in 2019, including matches played (28), sets played (90), kills (158), kills per set (1.76), hitting percentage (.270), assists (8), digs (26), block solos (21), block assists (71) and total blocks (92). Christie led the team in blocks and blocks per set and tied for the team lead in hitting percentage. She ranked fourth in the Sun Belt Conference in blocks.

GOSEN AIMS TO BUILD OFF STRONG 2019 FINISH
Senior Ina Gosen returns for her second season on the bayou in 2020. Gosen started all three matches on opening weekend, posting 19 kills, a service ace and three block assists for 21.5 points to rank third on the team. Gosen opened with 10 kills against Lamar and added six more against SFA.

The outside hitter from Goelenkamp, Germany, played in all 32 matches in 2019 and finished second on the team with 67 blocks. She was third on the team with 199 kills. Gosen picked up her play late in the season, most notably in a five-set win at Little Rock on Nov. 15. Gosen set a career-high with 21 kills on 39 attacks, good for a .462 hitting percentage, to go along with six blocks and six digs as the Warhawks knocked off the Trojans for the first time since 1992.

JUNIORS ANCHORED BY ASSALEY AND THIEDE
The 2020 Warhawk volleyball roster features just two juniors: Cali Assaley and McKinley Thiede. 

Assaley, an outside hitter from Columbia, South Carolina, started all three matches on opening weekend and played in nine out of 10 sets. She ranked second on the team with 20 kills. She notched 11 kills against Lamar, reaching double-digit kills for the fifth time in her career. She added eight more kills against Houston Baptist.

Assaley played in 30 of 32 matches with 113 kills and 27 blocks in 2019. She had the most efficient match of her career against Prairie View A&M on Sept. 6, 2019, connecting for 10 kills with just two errors on 18 attacks, good for a .444 hitting percentage. Later in the season, Assaley picked up 10 kills to go with three blocks against the Ragin' Cajuns on Nov. 8.

Thiede, a setter from Reno, Nevada, started all three matches on opening weekend, coming through with 59 assists (5.9 per set). Thiede tallied 27 assists in the season opener vs. Lamar, 17 against Houston Baptist and 15 against SFA. 

Thiede played in all 32 matches and 110 of 112 sets in 2019. She averaged a team-high 5.35 assists per set, ranking 10th in the Sun Belt Conference. She reached double-digit assists in all 32 matches and topped 20 assists 12 times. She twice earned at least 30 assists, doing so against Prairie View A&M (32) and at Little Rock (30). Thiede earned her first-career double-double at Little Rock with 30 assists and 10 digs.

FIVE SOPHOMORES RETURN IN 2020
The Warhawk roster remains youthful in 2020 as five sophomores return for their second season at ULM. Shaska Davis (outside hitter), Darby Fisher (setter), Madeline Hogan (outside hitter), Hailey Hughes (middle blocker) and Kathryn Raschilla (right side) each made their ULM debuts in 2019. Raschilla led the group with 1.58 kills per set. Fisher ranked second on the team with 4.30 assists per set. Hughes led the 2019 freshman group with a .245 hitting percentage.

On opening weekend, Davis tied for the team lead with six kills at SFA. Fisher played in six sets with 17 assists. Hogan played in all 10 sets with 35 digs and had no errors on 41 receptions. Hughes started against SFA and had two blocks and two kills. Raschilla started two of three matches and played in all 10 sets while compiling 11 kills and four blocks.

FOUR NEWCOMERS JOIN WARHAWKS IN 2020
Three freshmen and one senior join the Warhawk volleyball program in 2020.

Senior outside hitter Haley Coulter joins the team as a transfer from Angelo State. The Bradenton, Florida, native played two seasons for the Rambelles, helping them to the 2019 Lone Star Conference tournament championship and the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament. For her efforts, Coulter was named honorable mention All-Lone Star Conference after tallying 202 kills, 335 digs and 26 blocks over 103 sets. In 2017, Coulter had 66 kills, 100 digs and nine blocks over 40 sets before missing the remainder of the season and all of 2018 with an injury. Coulter opened her career at Tulsa in 2016, collecting 119 kills, 51 digs and 18 blocks over 64 sets as a freshman.

The freshmen group contains defensive specialist/setter Karson Davis (Conroe, Texas), defensive specialist/libero Chloe Jordan (Pearland, Texas) and middle blocker/right side Emma McWhorter (Spring, Texas). Davis, who was homeschooled prior to attending ULM, helped Christian Homeschool Sports Ministries to an undisputed national championship as a junior. Jordan finished her career as an All-Texas Team selection by the Texas Association of Volleyball Coaches. McWhorter helped Klein Collins High School to its best season in school history, reaching the third round of the playoffs as a junior.