MONROE, La. – The ULM volleyball team travels to Houston, Texas this weekend for the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup hosted by the University of Houston. The Warhawks will face McNeese at 2 p.m. Friday, Mississippi State at 2 p.m. Saturday and Houston at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
ULM begins the tournament against McNeese on at 2 p.m. Friday. ULM is 15-36 all-time versus the Cowgirls. The two teams last met in 2019 for two matchups with one win each. McNeese won their first two matchups of the season. Both ULM and McNeese have each defeated Lamar this season. The Warhawks won 3-2 in the Katrinka Crawford Invitational, and McNeese won 3-0 in their home opener. The Warhawks and Cowgirls will meet again on Tuesday in Lake Charles.
On Saturday, ULM takes on Mississippi State and then tournament host Houston.
First at 2 p.m., ULM faces the currently undefeated Mississippi State Bulldogs. MSU has two wins over Gonzaga and a victory over Southeastern. ULM is 5-7 all-time against Mississippi State, but the Warhawks have won two of the last three matchups, including the most recent meeting with the Bulldogs in 2018.
ULM closes its trip to Texas against Houston at 6:30 p.m. Houston remains undefeated to start the season. Their matchups with Lipscomb and Oklahoma both went to five sets. The Warhawks have only met with Houston twice in school history and the Cougars were victorious in both matchups. They most recently competed in 2016.
Senior Cali Assaley leads the Warhawks in total kills with 47 on the season and 2.97 per set. Freshman Avery Cole leads in kills per set with 3.14. She has 44 kills in her first collegiate season. Logan Jeffus is third on the team with 33 kills and an average of 2.06 per game. She had a 15-kill performance Tuesday at Northwestern State.
Sophomore Emma McWhorter leads the Warhawks with eight aces. She recorded seven aces against Lamar on Saturday. Junior Mariana Volponi e Giordan has found her groove in her first year as a Warhawk after transferring from Hofstra. She leads the Warhawks with 74 assists, averaging 6.73 assists per set. Junior Darby Fisher trails her teammate with 70 assists and a team-best 7 assists per set.
Sophomore Chloe Jordan leads her team with 71 digs and an average of 4.18 digs per set. Jordan started her season strong with a 25-dig game in their season opener against Oral Roberts. Jeffus leads the team with 11 blocks—all coming in the last two games. She tallied six blocks against Northwestern State. Junior Kathryn Raschilla has eight blocks and Volponi e Giordan has seven on the season.
