HOUSTON – The ULM volleyball team ended its stay at the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup with 3-0 losses to Mississippi State (25-16, 25-17, 25-19) and tournament host Houston (25-18, 25-13, 25-21) Saturday at the Fertitta Center.
"We played against two opponents who both play at a very high level," ULM head coach Charlie Olson said. "We strung together some great plays in both matches. However, our inexperience got the best of us in the end."
In the first set against Mississippi State (5-1), senior Cali Assaley scored a kill to bring the Warhawks (3-4) to their largest lead of the set at 8-4. MSU answered with a 5-1 run to tie it at 9 and surged in front with six of the next seven points to lead 16-10. MSU went on to the 25-16 win in the opening set.
The two sides battled back-and-forth in the second set, eventually ending up knotted at 11. MSU broke away with a 6-1 run and cruised to the 25-17 win.
In the final set against the Bulldogs, MSU took control early, getting out to a 7-3 lead. ULM battled back to get within a point at 18-17 on a kill by Assaley, but MSU never relinquished the lead and went on to the 25-19 win to take the match.
Assaley paced ULM with eight kills. Darby Fisher had eight assists and Madeline Hogan tallied 11 digs.
In the nightcap against Houston, the Cougars steadily pulled away in the opening set. UH took a 11-6 lead off a service error and never let ULM closer the rest of the way in the 25-18 win.
The second set was like the first. The Cougars claimed an 11-5 lead and never let ULM closer than six points the rest of the way, rolling to a 25-13 win.
In set three against Houston, ULM took their final lead of the match at 19-18 due to a Cougar attack error. Houston tallied the next five points to regain the lead and close out the match with a 25-21 win.
Assaley again led the Warhawks with nine kills. Mariana Volponi e Giordan had 12 assists while Hogan had seven digs.
"We've grown so much this weekend and I'm very happy with the level of play we build upon each set," Olson said. "We may have taken two losses today, but they will be two huge steps forward moving into next week."
The Warhawks face McNeese for the second time in five days at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Lake Charles. McNeese picked up a 3-0 decision over ULM on Friday in Houston.
