MONROE, La. – The ULM volleyball team lost 3-1 (20-25, 22-25, 25-22, 22-25) to Southern Miss with three three-point decisions Friday night at Fant-Ewing Coliseum. Madeline Williams led ULM in kills (17) for the eighth consecutive match and held the top spot in that category for the 16^th time this season.

Cameron Rogers led three Warhawks in double figures in digs with 15. Taylor Thomas had 13 and Brynn Botkin 10 to go along with her 12 kills. Logan Jeffus tallied a match-best four total blocks (3U, 1A) with Williams and Mariana Volponi e Giordan with three each.

ULM took an early advantage in set one, but Southern Miss chipped away at the lead, eventually tying the match at 11-all. The Golden Eagles used kills from three different players and service aces from Mia Wesley to swing the momentum to Southern Miss for a 20-12 score. The Warhawks battled back to cut the deficit to four, but the Golden Eagles pulled it out for the 25-20 victory.
 
Wesley finished the afternoon with a match-best 19 kills. Megan Harris had the top dig total with 20, the only Golden Eagle in double digits.

The Warhawks spent a lot of energy playing catchup in set two. ULM fell behind 11-6, but tied the set at 13 and forced Southern Miss to call a timeout. The Golden Eagles ran off six-straight points for a lead at 19-13 as ULM needed a timeout of its own. Williams and Botkin had two kills apiece over the next stretch as the Warhawks pulled within two points, 21-19. Southern Miss finally prevailed 25-22 after being denied twice at set point.
 
The two teams each had 12 kills in the third set where ULM took the 25-22 win. Six ties occurred before the final tie saw the score knotted at 12-all. The Warhawks went up by as many as four points, but Southern Miss snuck back within one at 21-20. Kills by Kathryn Raschilla sandwiched a critical solo block by Williams and helped ULM hold off the Golden Eagles 25-22.
 
The final set gave Southern Miss the victory at 25-22 after ULM held the lead until ties at 17-17 and 18-18. Three kills by Wesley helped the Golden Eagles score four-straight points for a 22-18 lead. Two solo blocks by Williams, a kill by Williams and kill by Tessa Gerwig contributed to a four-point ULM run to tie the score at 22-22. Wesley responded with two kills for two of Southern Miss' next three points for the win.
 
ULM had five fewer kills overall than Southern Miss, but made fewer errors, 10 to the Golden Eagles' 14, and had more blocks, 14 to USM's 10.
 
The longest homestand of the season for ULM contines with Sun Belt Conference matches vs. App State. Friday's match at Fant-Ewing Coliseum is set for 6 p.m. and Saturday's match begins at noon. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.