Cali Assaley swings at the ball above the net against Louisiana Tech
Siddharth Gaulee/ULM Photo Services
1
Georgia St. GSU 3-8,0-1 Sun Belt
3
Winner La.-Monroe ULM 5-11,1-0 Sun Belt
Georgia St. GSU
3-8,0-1 Sun Belt
1
Final
3
La.-Monroe ULM
5-11,1-0 Sun Belt
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Georgia St. GSU 25 25 18 33 (1)
La.-Monroe ULM 20 27 25 35 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

Warhawks Grind Past Georgia State, 3-1

MONROE, La. – The ULM volleyball team opened Sun Belt Conference play with a 3-1 victory over the Georgia State Panthers (20-25, 27-25, 25-18, 35-33) Thursday night at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

"This week we've been talking about being able to finish strong," ULM head coach Charlie Olson said. "We've been looking for ways to not overwork, and we found that here tonight."

The Warhawks stormed into the first set and took an early lead over the Panthers. ULM went up 15-10 before the Panthers hit their stride on a scoring run. The Panthers mounted a late-game comeback to win the first set 25-20.

In the second set of play, ULM came out on top 27-25. Senior Cali Assaley had five kills in the set and led her team past strong defensive plays at the net by the Panthers. The Warhawks overcame another late rally by GSU. The Warhawks scored the final three points of the set to close out the Panthers.

ULM won their second straight set, 25-18, in the third. ULM held the Panthers in check for the final stretch of the contest and staved off their offensive push. ULM scored nine of the final 12 points in the set.

In set four, the Panthers reached set point at 24-22. ULM rallied back into the contest to extend the set. The two teams reached set point 10 times over the remainder of the contest. The Panthers ran out of substitutions in this stretch and the Warhawks took advantages of mismatches to keep themselves in the contest. A strong attack by Assaley forced a GSU set error to win the contest 35-33.

"Whenever you get to play in front of a crowd that gets into it, that helps us every time," Olson said.

Assaley scored 27 kills in the contest, setting a program-record for kills in a four-set match in the 25-point rally scoring era (2008 to present). Junior Mariana Volponi e Giordan dished out 49 assists which is third-most in a four-set match in the same span.

"We will enjoy our win tonight before we pivot to Georgia Southern tomorrow," Olson said.

The Warhawks returns to action for their second game in SBC play at 6 p.m. Friday at home against Georgia Southern.

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