MONROE, La. - The ULM volleyball team starts their 2021 campaign on the road at the Katrinka Crawford Invitational in Beaumont, Texas. The Warhawks will face Oral Roberts at 10 a.m. Friday. Later that day, ULM takes on Prairie View A&M at 4 p.m. The Warhawks end their tournament trip by challenging the tournament host Lamar at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Oral Roberts leads the all-time series against ULMÂ 8-2. They won the most recent matchup against the Warhawks, 3-0, in 2016.
ULM has the series lead against Prairie View A&M, 5-1, including a 3-2 win at the 2019 Katrinka Crawford Invitational.
Lamar holds the all-time series against ULM 26-5. However, the Warhawks have won four out of the last five matchups, including ULM's lone win last season when they met at the season-opening tournament at Stephen F. Austin.
Coach Charlie Olson enters his third season as head coach of volleyball. Olson's Warhawks struggled last season after winning their opening matchup versus Lamar. His Warhawks look drastically different without six of their starters from the 2020 campaign.
Outside hitter Cali Assaley enters her senior season. She is the lone returning starter from the 2020 squad. She had 116 kills last season (2.1 kills per set), and had 100 digs and 132 points, all of which were career-highs.
Junior libero Madeline Hogan returns after having a solid season defensively. She led the team with 324 digs in 2020.
The Warhawks had a five-set exhibition showing against Southeastern Louisiana on August 20, falling 4-1. Assaley led her team with 12 kills, followed by junior Kathlyn Raschilla with 10 kills. Hogan finished with 13 digs. Junior Darby Fisher tallied 34 assists. The exhibition allowed seven of the ten new Warhawks to make their collegiate debut.
Follow the matches with live stats here.
