SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The ULM volleyball team dropped its seventh straight match in a 3-0 loss (25-21, 25-18, 25-18) against Saint Louis in the final match at the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational, hosted by Missouri State at the Hammons Student Center.
"We had a clear-cut game plan and executed well until about 18 points, but then Saint Louis pulled away in each of the three sets," ULM head coach
Charlie Olson said.
The Warhawks (3-8) played their second straight game without senior
Cali Assaley, the team's leader in kills.
ULM and Saint Louis (5-4) fought closely through the first set. Saint Louis broke away with the lead at 15-11, but the Warhawks were able close the gap. Junior
Darby Fisher tied the set with a service ace at 18-18. The Billikens closed out the first set with three of their last four points coming off of service aces to take the set, 25-21.
The Warhawks fell behind after taking a small lead early on in the second set. After a late timeout while trailing 18-14, ULM was able to close the gap to one off of an attack error and kills by Fisher and freshman
Avery Cole. The offense was shut out for the rest of the set with ULM's final score of the set coming from a Saint Louis error. The Billikens took the second set, 25-18, and led 2-0.
In the third set, ULM trailed closely with Saint Louis out of the gate. A kill by Cole sparked a 4-0 run followed by three straight aces from junior
Mariana Volponi e Giordan to take the lead, 8-7. The Billikens broke away and led 23-14 late in the contest. The Warhawks mustered up four more scores but a Saint Louis kill closed the set, 25-18 and the match, 3-0.
"This tournament was balanced with tough competition, very similar to Sun Belt Conference play," Olson said.
Fisher earned All-Tournament honors. She dished out 15 assists against Saint Louis. Fisher averaged 5.2 assists per set in the tournament. Cole finished with eight kills in the contest. Junior
Madeline Hogan compiled 14 digs.
The Warhawks open the home schedule at 6 p.m. Tuesday against Louisiana Tech.
