NEW ORLEANS, La. – The ULM beach volleyball earned its first win of the 2021 season on Friday at the Bayou Beach Duals when it defeated Spring Hill by a 3-2 margin. The Warhawks rebounded from a 5-0 setback to Florida State in the opening match of the day to claim the one-point win.
"I'm super proud of how our team responded after a tough matchup against Florida State to earn a 3-2 victory against Spring Hill," said ULM head coach
Charlie Olson. "We will continue to make adjustments as we look forward to Tulane and Texas A&M-Kingsville tomorrow, but first we will celebrate the first win of 2021."
ULM 3, Spring Hill 2
In the second match of the day in New Orleans, ULM emerged with the one-point victory in the ninth head-to-head meeting against Spring Hill. The Warhawks are now 7-2 all-time in the series.
The Warhawks (1-5) picked up one of their three points when No. 1 seeds
Julia Blazek and
Audrey Brooks posted their third win of the season (21-11, 24-22) over Payton Gidney and Kassandra Failry. ULM teammates
Abigail Elder and
Kayla Gallant were responsible for a 21-16, 16-21, 15-11 win over fellow No. 3 seeds Brooke Borgemeyer and Allison Weimer.
Elizabeth Moreland and
Abbey Bufkin, the Warhawks' No. 4 seeds in the match, triumphed by scores of 21-17, 17-21, 15-11 over Natalie Bonner and Leanne Sorrel.
Spring Hill (5-1) claimed one of its two points when No. 2 seeds Sarah Senft and Mikayla Boyer downed the ULM pair of
Anna Demmer and
Katie McKay by scores of 21-13, 21-16. The second point was from the fifth-seeded pair of Kyla Shappell and Patty Blood, who defeated
Ina Gosen and
Holland Ponthieux in three sets (17-21, 21-19, 15-9).
Florida State 5, ULM 0
The No. 2 Florida State beach volleyball team maintained its perfect record (5-0) with a 5-0 victory over ULM in the opening round of the Bayou Beach Duals on Friday morning.
FSU grabbed the first point of the match as the No. 3 team of Sara Putt and Maddie Anderson came through with a 21-6, 21-10 win. Teammates Alaina Chacon and Molly McBain tacked on the second point, 21-13, 21-10, with a victory over
Audrey Brooks and
Julia Blazek in a clash of No. 1 seeds.
The Seminoles earned the decisive point when the tandem of Kate Privett and Jenna Johnson defeated ULM's pair of
Abbey Bufkin and
Elizabeth Moreland, 21-14, 21-11. Florida State stretched its lead to 4-0 shortly thereafter as Torrey Van Widen and Keara Rutz came through with a 21-14, 21-8 win over
Anna Demmer and
Katie McKay in the meeting of No. 2 seeds.
Florida State conducted its third straight sweep of the Warhawks when the No. 4 tandem of Payton Caffrey and Liz Waters-Leiga triumphed over
Ina Gosen and
Holland Ponthieux by scores of 21-17, 21-15.
ULM returns to action on Saturday, March 6, when the Warhawks take on host Tulane at 10:30 a.m. and Texas A&M-Kingsville at 12:30 p.m.