STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Northwestern State rallied past ULM, winning the final two sets, to take Friday's season opener, 3-2 (25-27, 25-19, 22-25, 25-13, 15-8), at the Texan Invitational at Wisdom Volleyball Gym.
 
In the tight first set, neither team led by more than ULM's 3-0 advantage to open the match. The Warhawks (0-1 overall) fought off set point with a kill by Logan Jeffus to tie it up at 24. An attack error by NSU (1-0 overall) gave ULM a chance at set point before a service error knotted it up again at 25. From there, another kill by Jeffus and an error by NSU gave the Warhawks the early 1-0 advantage with a 27-25 win.
 
NSU rattled off a 9-1 run to build an 18-11 lead in the second set, and the Lady Demons lead never dipped below four in the remainder of the set to tie the match at 1, 25-19.
 
After trailing by as much as four at 18-14, NSU rallied to tie the third set at 21 and again at 22. However, a kill by Bailey Roberson, a service ace by Taylor Thomas and another kill by Roberson rounded out the set, 25-22, handing ULM a 2-1 lead.
 
The Lady Demons controlled the fourth set, building a quick 5-1 lead, which continued to expand. The Lady Demons led by 12 twice before closing it out with a 25-13 win, forcing a deciding fifth set.
 
In the final frame, a four-point run by NSU gave the Lady Demons and 8-4 lead. ULM was no closer than three points the rest of the way as NSU took the set, 15-8, and completed the comeback, 3-2.
 
Madeline Williams led ULM with 13 kills, while Thomas added 10. Roberson added 22 assists and 14 digs in her first collegiate match for her first double-double. Cameron Rogers led the Warhawks with 23 digs.
 
ULM wraps up the Texan Invitational on Saturday, facing Fairleigh Dickinson at 10 a.m. and Tarleton State at 5 p.m. Links to live streaming and stats are available on the volleyball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com.