MONROE, La. – After claiming five wins at the ULM Beach Invitational last weekend, including three straight on the final day of action against New Orleans, Central Arkansas and Southeastern Louisiana, the Warhawk beach volleyball team heads to Fort Worth, Texas, to take part in the Fight in the Fort.
The first of the four matches will come against host and Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) rival No. 10 TCU on Friday at 1:30 p.m. The Warhawks make a quick return to the court on Friday when they square off against Stephen F. Austin at 3:45 p.m. ULM opens Saturday action with its second match of the season against Texas A&M-Kingsville at 9 a.m. and concludes the tournament by facing the Horned Frogs in a 3:45 p.m. match.
ULM enters the weekend on its longest winning streak since earning five straight during the 2019 season. That stretch came between February 23
rd and March 2
nd, when the Warhawks completed wins over North Alabama, New Mexico, Missouri Baptist, San Jose State and Texas A&M-Kingsville.
The Warhawks have been led this season by their top three units which include the pairings of
Julia Blazek and
Audrey Brooks at No. 1,
Anna Demmer and
Katie McKay and Abbie Elder and
Kayla Gallant. Blazek and Brooks, who have served as the No. 1 seeded pair for ULM in every match this season, have 10 wins on the season. That includes a three-match winning streak against New Orleans, Central Arkansas and Southeastern Louisiana to conclude the ULM Beach Invitational.
Demmer and McKay have served as both the No. 2 seeds, where they won four matches, and No. 3 seeds, which resulted in three wins, for ULM in 2021. The pair emerged with four wins, three as the No. 3 seed, at the ULM Beach Invitational, last weekend.
Elder and Gallant have combined for the most wins as a ULM team in 2021, winning 11 matches. Three of those victories came as the No. 2 seed for the Warhawks, which came in the final three matches of the ULM Beach Invitational. The other eight wins were as the No. 3 seed for ULM.
Abbey Bufkin and
Elizabeth Moreland are responsible for seven wins, all as the No. 4 seed, for ULM in 2021.
TCU: The Warhawks and Horned Frogs have met on four occasions with TCU emerging victorious in each match. TCU has claimed three of those wins by 5-0 sweeps with the lone ULM individual victory coming on April 1, 2017. The Horned Frogs enter the weekend ranked 10th in the recent AVCA Collegiate Beach Volleyball Poll, which was released on March 16. TCU is 10-3 overall and 9-1 in the CCSA and riding a three-match winning streak that includes triumphs over No. 20 Tulane, 3-2, No. 18 Georgia State, 4-1 and UAB, 5-0.
The Horned Frogs have faced nine ranked opponents this season and are 6-3 in those matches.
Stephen F. Austin: The Lumberjacks enter the weekend with a 2-5 mark on the season and dropped four straight matches in a recent appearance at the Arizona Invitational on March 6-7. Three of those losses, which came to Arizona, Arizona State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, were by 5-0 margins. The most recent setback, 4-1, was against Boise State. This weekend will mark the first-ever meeting between ULM and Stephen F. Austin.
Texas A&M-Kingsville: ULM is 6-1 all-time against Texas A&M-Kingsville after posting a 3-2 win on March 6 at the Bayou Beach Duals in New Orleans. The last four matches in the series have been determined by just one point between the two teams. The Javelinas are 5-3 on the season, winning all five matches at home, and are coming off a 3-2 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on March 10.
