MONROE, La. – The ULM beach volleyball team returns to the court after an eight-day break this weekend when it heads to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to compete in the Southern Miss Beach Invitational.
The Warhawks will compete in four matches during a two-day stretch, including three against Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) members, on April 2-3.
The Warhawks begin play on Friday, April 2, against fellow CCSA member UAB at 10 a.m. Following the completion of that match, ULM will square off against CCSA rival and tournament host Southern Miss at 2 p.m. on Friday. Saturday's matches begin at 12 p.m. when the Warhawks face Tulane, a CCSA match for both programs, and conclude with a 4 p.m. clash with Spring Hill College, drawing the tournament to a close.
ULM (11-10, 2-5 CCSA) has won four of its last six matches, including two back-to-back wins at Missouri State, dating back to a clash with No. 10 TCU on March 19. The Warhawks posted a trio of 3-2 wins in the stretch against Stephen F. Austin, Texas A&M-Kingsville and Missouri State as well as a 5-0 sweep of Ottawa in their last match.
Four Warhawk duos enter the weekend with double-digit wins this season. The combination of
Kayla Gallant and Abbie Elder, who have served as both the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, as well as
Audrey Brooks and
Julia Blazek, the No. 1 seed for ULM, are tied for the most wins with 13. Meanwhile, ULM's
Katie McKay and
Anna Demmer, who have competed as both No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, and the duo of
Abbey Bufkin and
Elizabeth Moreland, the No. 4 seed for the Warhawks, are tied for third-most wins with 11.
UAB: The Blazers enter the weekend with a 6-11 overall mark that includes a 2-8 record in CCSA play. UAB has lost eight of its last nine matches dating back to March 12 when they began play at The March to May tournament against No. 11 Grand Canyon. The lone victory in that stretch came against No. 20 Tulane, who the Blazers edged 3-2 on March 13. UAB has played 10 nationally-ranked opponents this season, including eight in the last nine matches. This marks the first match between ULM and the Blazers.
SOUTHERN MISS: Tournament host Southern Miss is 6-13 overall and 0-8 against CCSA opposition. The Golden Eagles have won two of their last three matches, posting a 4-1 win over New Orleans and a 4-0 victory against Southeastern Louisiana as part of a tri-match on Monday, March 29. The setback came to Spring Hill, which emerged with a 3-2 victory. Southern Miss opened the season at the Seminole Beach Bash, facing four nationally ranked teams along the way, and have faced five ranked teams since that point. The Golden Eagles and Warhawks met twice in 2020 with Southern Miss winning both matches.
TULANE: This weekend marks the second meeting this season between the two Louisiana programs with Tulane claiming the first in 4-1 fashion on March 6 at the Bayou Beach Duals. The Green Wave (12-10, 2-8 CCSA) have lost three of their last four matches on the season, suffering setbacks to No. 12 Florida Atlantic, No. 20 Florida Gulf Coast and No. 13 FIU at the FIU Tournament on March 26-27. The lone win in that stretch, 3-2, came over Tampa on Saturday, March 27. Tulane holds a slight 8-6 advantage in the all-time series with the Warhawks, winning the last five straight head-to-head meetings.
SPRING HILL: The Badgers head to Hattiesburg riding a two-match winning streak which includes a pair of 3-2 victories over New Orleans and Southern Miss earlier this week on March 29. Spring Hill, which opened the season with five straight victories against the combination of Huntingdon, William Carey and Texas A&M-Kingsville, posted its seventh win of the season against Central Arkansas on March 20. ULM, which is 7-2 all-time against the Badgers, earned its first victory of 2021 by a 3-2 margin against Spring Hill. This weekend marks the second of three matches between the two programs.
