MONROE, La. – The ULM volleyball team travels to Nacogdoches, Texas this weekend to compete in the Stephen F. Austin Invitational Tournament. The Warhawks meet up against Houston Baptist and Grambling State on Friday before taking on SFA on Saturday in the final three non-conference matches of the season.
ULM (4-8) is coming off a 3-2 victory over I-20 rival Louisiana Tech on Tuesday, rallying from an early 2-0 deficit for the win. Senior
Cali Assaley had her second career double-double, setting career highs with 28 kills and 14 digs. Her 28 kills tied for second most in a five-set match for ULM since the switch to 25-point rally scoring in 2008. Freshman
Avery Cole was right behind with 26 kills, which ranks as the fourth-most in a five-set match.
Assaley leads the way with 122 kills and 3.39 kills per set, while Cole has 107 kills and 2.89 per set. Junior
Mariana Volponi e Giordan leads ULM in aces (14), total assists (172) and assists per set (5.55). Junior
Madeline Hogan paces the team in digs with 146 and an average of 3.56 digs per set. Freshman
Logan Jeffus has a team-best 22 blocks on the season.
The Warhawks open the tournament at 1 p.m. Friday against Houston Baptist. ULM is searching for its first win against the Huskies as HBU has won all five prior meetings. The two teams met at SFA in 2020 as the Huskies swept the Warhawks, 3-0. Houston Baptist is 7-4 on the season and has won its last two matches. HBU is led by Alyssa May with 95 kills and Anna Gadway at 91 kills. Ellie Wipf has racked up 359 assists while Kaley Ferris has 166 digs. Ebonie Ballesteros has been strong at the net with 47 blocks (14 solo, 33 assists).
ULM faces Grambling State on Friday at 5 p.m. ULM has dominated the Tigers historically with the Warhawks holding the series lead, 19-1. The Tigers and Warhawks last met in 2019 in two contests and ULM was victorious in each, 3-0. GSU is 2-4 on the season. Tamaira Johnson and Rayven McKenzie have 38 kills each for GSU, while Kalee Cadwell leads the team with 82 assists. Defensively, Jada Taylor has tallied 77 digs while Saige Rivers has 18 blocks.
ULM faces tournament host SFA at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. The Ladyjacks lead the all-time series 43-5. The Warhawks have not bested SFA since 2012. SFA is 5-3 on the season after losing its most recent matchup to Arkansas. Ariana Pagan leads the way at 76 kills while Ilean Bradley is right behind with 73 kills. Maddy Bourque and Kodi Garcia have each topped 100 assists, with Bourque at 154 and Garcia at 108. Defensively, Alyssa Ortega paces the Ladyjacks with 140 digs while Taya Mitchell has 34 blocks. Saturday's match will be televised on ESPN+.
Links to live video and stats are available on the volleyball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com.
