COLUMBIA, S.C. – The ULM beach volleyball team split its matches on the opening day of the Gamecock Grand Slam, knocking off Mercer 4-1 Friday morning before battling through heavy rain in a 5-0 loss to No. 15 Pepperdine in the afternoon at Wheeler Beach.
The Warhawks close the Gamecock Grand Slam on Saturday, facing No. 19 South Carolina at 10 a.m. CST and No. 5 LSU at 12 p.m. CST.
ULM 4, Mercer 1
The Warhawks opened the day with a 4-1 win over Mercer to move back to 4-4 on the season.
Sophomore
Abbey Bufkin and junior
Abigail Elder gave ULM a 1-0 lead with a 21-14, 21-12 win over Hana Robertson and Kathryn Corbett on Court 5. Sophomores
Madison Gray and
Kaitlyn Nowak bounced back from a second-set loss to push ULM's lead to 2-0 on Court 4 with a 21-15, 19-21, 15-9 victory.
Mercer picked up its only point on Court 3, as Jordan Paddock and Reese Hood fought off the decisive point with a 21-19, 21-17 win over ULM senior
Elizabeth Moreland and junior
Brooke Hoven.
The Warhawks sealed the win on Court 2 when seniors
Kayla Gallant and
Rylin Adams swept Sydney Benson and Nicole O'Mara, 21-15, 21-17. The Court 1 pairing of senior
Audrey Brooks and junior
Julia Blazek also swept their counterparts, rolling past Lexi Polychones and Olivia Boeve, 21-15, 21-16.
In an exhibition match, freshmen
Delaney Evans and
Tamsie Black swept Elena Sanfrey and Emily Earwood, 22-20, 21-14.
1. Brooks, Audrey/Blazek, Julia (ULM) def. Lexi Polychones/Olivia Boeve (MU) 21-15, 21-16
2. Gallant, Kayla/Adams, Rylin (ULM) def. Sydney Benson/Nicole O'Mara (MU) 21-15, 21-17
3. Jordan Paddock/Reese Hood (MU) def. Moreland, Elizabeth/Hoven, Brooke (ULM) 21-19, 21-17
4. Gray, Madison/Nowak, Kaitlyn (ULM) def. Jordan Morris/Alyssa Scoggins (MU) 21-15, 19-21, 15-9
5. Bufkin, Abbey/Elder, Abigail (ULM) def. Hana Robertson/Kathryn Corbett (MU) 21-14, 21-12
Ext. Evans, Delaney/Black, Tamsie (ULM) def. Elena Sanfrey/Emily Earwood (MU) 22-20, 21-14
Match Notes:
Mercer 2-10
ULM 4-4
Order of finish: 5,4,3,2,1
No. 15 Pepperdine 5, ULM 0
In the second match of the day, the No. 15 Waves dropped just one set in sweeping ULM in a heavy rainstorm at Wheeler Beach.
Pepperdine opened with a win on Court 4, with Rio Frohoff and Cameron Baklenko defeating Nowak and Gray, 24-22, 21-16. The lead moved to 2-0 at Court 5. While Bufkin and Elder had ULM's only set win, coming in the second set, the duo came up short to Kate Clermont and Jordan Benoit, 21-13, 18-21, 15-8.
The Waves clinched the match on Court 2, as Simone Priebe and McKenna Thomas defeated Gallant and Adams, 21-16, 21-10. Pepperdine won on Court 1 as Melanie Paul and Madison Shields swept Brooks and Blazek, 21-19, 21-16. The Waves closed the match with a win on Court 3 as Juju Quintero and Mary Sinclair beat Moreland and Hoven, 21-8, 21-18.
In an exhibition match, Pepperdine's Savanna Greene and Peyton Lewis defeated sophomore
Avery Reynolds and Black, 21-13, 21-19.
1. Paul, Melanie/Shields, Madison (PEP) def. Brooks, Audrey/Blazek, Julia (ULM) 21-19, 21-16
2. Priebe, Simone/Thomas, McKenna (PEP) def. Gallant, Kayla/Adams, Rylin (ULM) 21-16, 21-10
3. Quintero, Juju/Sinclair, Mary (PEP) def. Moreland, Elizabeth/Hoven, Brooke (ULM) 21-8, 21-18
4. Frohoff, Rio/Baklenko, Cameron (PEP) def. Nowak, Kaitlyn/Gray, Madison (ULM) 24-22, 21-16
5. Clermont, Kate/Benoit, Jordan (PEP) def. Elder, Abigail/Bufkin, Abbey (ULM) 21-13, 18-21, 15-8
Ext. Greene, Savana/Lewis, Peyton (PEP) def. Reynolds, Avery/Black, Tamsie (ULM) 21-13, 21-19
Match Notes:
ULM 4-5
Pepperdine 6-1; National ranking #15
Order of finish: 4,5,2,1,3
Heavy rain throughout
