CHARLESTON, Ill. – The ULM volleyball team rallied for a five-set win, 3-2, over Akron after dropping the season opener, 3-0, vs. Eastern Illinois Friday afternoon at the EIU Panther Classic at Lantz Arena.
 
EIU 3, ULM 0
 
The host team EIU (1-0 overall) didn't hold back against the Warhawks (1-1 overall) as they came away with the sweep, 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-17).
 
The Panthers never trailed in the first set. The Warhawks came close with scores of 16-14 and 21-19, but EIU had an answer for everything they did, and they pulled away with a three-point win.
 
The second set started as a close affair with a 5-5 score but scoring runs of 4-0 and 5-0 helped the Panthers pull away and win in dominating fashion.
 
After a kill from Ariana Brown, the Warhawks only trailed 12-11 in set three. The Panthers responded by going on a 9-3 scoring run to increase their lead to seven. EIU finished the sweep with a 25-17 win.
 
Brown led the team with 10 kills. Bailey Roberson had 15 assists and Callie Humphrey finished with 10 digs.
 
ULM 3, Akron 2
 
ULM pulled off a close 3-2 win against Akron (0-2 overall) to finish the day with its first win (25-14, 22-25, 17-25, 25-16, 17-15). It marks the first career win for head coach Matt Kearns.
 
ULM wasted no time in set one as it jumped out to an 8-0 lead. The Warhawks never looked back, and they claimed a commanding 25-14 set win.
 
Things were different in set two. With a 9-8 lead, Akron scored 4 unanswered points to take a five-point lead. ULM once again closed the gap to one, but the Zips used a 4-1 scoring run to pull ahead by four. With the score at 24-19, the Warhawks tried to save the set with a 3-0 scoring run, but a kill by Faith Johnson ended any hopes of a Warhawk win.
 
In the third set, scoring runs dominated the set. Akron used scoring runs of 7-1 and 4-1 to go up 16-7. ULM tried to come back with a 5-1 run and a 5-2 run which put it within four. The Zips scored four straight points to claim the set 25-17.
 
The Warhawks started hot in set four with leads of 8-3 and 13-6. With the score at 20-16, ULM copied their opponent and scored five unanswered points to win the set.
 
In a winner-take-all fifth set, Akron jumped out to a 5-2 lead before the Warhawks tied the game at six all. Trailing 10-8, kills from Brown and Taylor Thomas along with an Akron attack error gave ULM its first lead of the set. Akron took back the lead and put the Warhawks on the brink of defeat with a 15-14 lead, but two kills from Logan Jeffus and a final strike from Madeline Villarreal secured the first win of the 2023 season for ULM.
 
Top performers for the Warhawks included Jeffus, who led the team with 16 kills. Rogers had 27 digs, which led the team. Roberson produced 27 assists with 13 digs, while Morgan Howard put up 18 assists with eight digs.
 
The Warhawks conclude the EIU Panther Classic at 11 a.m. Saturday when they face off against Valparaiso. Links to live streaming and stats are available on the volleyball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com.