NEW ORLEANS, La – The ULM volleyball team opened the Green Wave Classic with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-13) win over Grambling State on Friday. The win breaks the three-match losing streak from the UTA Classic last weekend.
"Those losses last weekend, we took it personally," head coach
Daniel Cabrera said. "We decided on a new identity in practice, and it transferred over to the game."
Ariana Brown continues her dominant season, tallying 16 kills with a .286 hitting percentage along with 11 digs.
Morgan Howard racked up an eye-raising 32 assists with eight digs.
"Ari performed well from the outside hitter spot," Cabrera said. "Morgan's leadership is slowly becoming elite."
On the defensive side,
Cameron Rogers led the team with 19.
Kali Walker and
Camryn Kimes also had double-digit digs with 16 and 12 respectively.
"They had the defense locked down," Cabrera said.
The first set started even with both teams trading blows. With the score at 11-11, the Warhawks used scoring runs of 4-1 and 5-1 to pull away. They carried the momentum to a critical first-set win, only the second opening-set win for ULM in 2024.
Set two opened with the same feel as the first one. Leading by one point, the Tigers scored three straight to gain control of the match. They carried the advantage to a 23-20 lead. With their backs against the wall, the Warhawks, powered by three
Ariana Brown kills, scored the remaining five points to steal the second set.
The third and final set lacked the drama that the first two had. ULM wasted no time taking advantage with a fast 11-5 start. Grambling stuck around and trailed by five with an 18-13 score, but the Warhawks killed any momentum and used a 7-0 run to finish the job.
ULM is back in action tomorrow on Saturday as it faces SEC foe Mississippi State at 12:00 p.m.
