ULM (6-12 overall, 0-4 Sun Belt Conference) vs. Southern Miss (10-6 overall, 2-2 Sun Belt Conference)
Fant-Ewing Coliseum | Monroe, La.
6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022 | WATCH: ESPN+ | LIVE STATS | ADMISSION: $5
2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, 2022 | WATCH: ESPN+ | LIVE STATS | ADMISSION: $5
MATCH NOTES
MONROE, La. - The ULM volleyball team continues Sun Belt Conference action with the start of a four-match homestand, taking on Southern Miss at 6 p.m. Thursday and 2 p.m. Friday. Both matches will stream on ESPN+. Admission is $5.
The Warhawks (6-12 overall, 0-4 SBC) dropped both matches at South Alabama last weekend, falling 3-0 on Friday and 3-1 on Saturday. ULM hit .097 as a team on the weekend.
Madeline Williams picked up 19 kills in the series, with four digs and three blocks.
Mariana Volponi e Giordan paced ULM with 32 assists while
Bailey Roberson added 18.
Cameron Rogers continued to lead ULM in digs with 25.
Southern Miss (10-6 overall, 2-2 SBC) split its weekend series for the second consecutive weekend, defeating Troy, 3-2 (25-23, 21-25, 25-20, 22-25, 16-14) on Friday, before falling, 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-17) on Saturday. The Golden Eagles hit .241 on the weekend. Cara Atkinson led USM with 24 kills while Mia Wesley had 22 for the series. Kenzie Smith tallied 73 assists and Megan Harris led with 30 digs. Wesley leads USM on the season with 303 kills (4.97 per set), while Smith has 654 assists (10.72 per set) and Harris has 275 digs (4.51 per set).
FOLLOW THE WARHAWKS -
Links to live stats for all matches are available on ULMWarhawks.com.
Navigate to the volleyball schedule page and select that day's opponent. All nine home matches and select road matches will stream on ESPN+. Links to stream the match also are available on the volleyball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com.
RECAP -
Reigning Sun Belt volleyball champion South Alabama swept ULM in the first match of the teams' conference series Friday, 3-0 (25-7, 25-16, 25-16).
Madeline Williams had a ULM team-best eight kills with
Logan Jeffus and
Tessa Gerwig adding five each.
Cameron Rogers tied for a share of the game-high honors with 11 digs.
South Alabama hit .357 as a team with 35 kills and only six attack errors. ULM had 23 attack errors and produced its lowest kill total and hitting percentage of the year. The Jaguars added 10 service aces to only three for the Warhawks.
South Alabama extended its home match streak to 18 but lost only its second home set this season to ULM in the 3-1 (9-25, 20-25, 26-24, 7-25) contest Saturday. There were 12 ties and four lead changes in the third set with ULM taking a three-point lead at three intervals early on.
Williams' kill gave ULM a 24-23 lead and she broke the 24-24 tie with another kill.
Taylor Thomas served up the ace for the set-winning point after her kill put the Warhawks up 23-22.
Hannah Maddux had a match-best 24 kills to lead the Jaguars. Williams posted 11 kills for ULM with Thomas adding eight. Rachel Hickey tallied 25 digs on the afternoon for USA with three Warhawks in double figures: Thomas (14), Rogers (13) and
Brynn Botkin (11).
SERIES HISTORY -
Southern Miss leads the series, 11-8. The Golden Eagles have won the last six meetings in the series, all by 3-0 scores. ULM and USM last met on Sept. 5, 2017, in Hattiesburg, after playing on Sept. 13, 2016, in Monroe. The Warhawks last defeated the Golden Eagles, 3-1, on Sept. 23, 1993, in Monroe.
A LOOK AHEAD -
ULM continues Sun Belt Conference play and the four-game homestand next weekend, entertaining App State at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, and 12 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. The Warhawks then wrap up non-conference play on Monday, Oct. 17, at Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
