MONROE, La. – A career performance by Amelia Piekut and dominance at the line gave ULM volleyball a long-awaited Sun Belt Conference win, besting visiting Troy 3-1 (25-21, 14-25, 26-24, 25-18) Thursday evening.
 
"Getting that first conference win under your belt definitely feels good," head coach Reid Gann said. "I'm really proud of the team and how we came out and played tonight."
 
Piekut's stat line was nothing short of impressive, as she tallied 21 kills with eight digs and an ace. Overall, she collected 23.0 points on the night.
 
"The best way to describe Amelia was dynamic," Gann said. "She did a nice job from the front and back row as well as the service line."
 
In the first, the Warhawks (10-15, 1-10 Sun Belt) started with the advantage, scoring six points compared to the Trojans' (5-14, 3-8 Sun Belt) four. Troy responded with a 7-2 run to take control, but the Warhawks answered with a 6-2 run to take back the lead.
 
Leading 19-18, ULM scored three of the next four to increase its lead to three. With two points needed to take the set, the Warhawks got those two points with block solos from Chavon Weaver and Morgan Howard to go up 1-0 in the match.
 
In set two, it was the Trojans starting with control, racing out an 11-5 advantage. The two teams traded blows before a 5-2 Troy run gave it a commanding 20-12 lead. A final 5-2 run by the Trojans gave them the second set and tied the match at 1-1.
 
In the third set, both teams were evenly matched to start, resulting in a 10-9 Warhawk lead. Troy produced a 4-1 run to take control, but four unanswered points by the home team flipped momentum right back with a media timeout.
 
The Trojans opened the second half of the set on fire, scoring six of eight points to take a two-point advantage. Trailing 22-20, ULM scored three straight to take the lead before two straight from Troy brought it to set point. The front line caught fire for the Warhawks, as Kenzie Behl powered two block solos and Piekut delivered the final kill to bring the match to a 2-1 ULM advantage.
 
After a 6-6 start to set four, the Warhawks scored three unanswered points to take the lead early. They built onto that lead with a 6-1 scoring run to establish firm control with the score at 15-9. Troy didn't go away, as it worked the deficit to three late in the set. The Trojans proceeded to commit four errors to bring it to match point, as Piekut drove in her final kill of the night, ending the set and the match.
 
Alongside Piekut, Kennedy Plummer totaled nine kills with a block assist. Kenzie Behl and Weaver controlled the line with six and five total blocks, respectively. Howard collected 33 assists with an ace, as Briana Raney led in digs with 18.
 
As a team, the Warhawks produced more blocks and aces than Troy, with seven aces to five and 15 blocks to eight.
 
ULM is back on the court tomorrow afternoon to attempt the weekend sweep over Troy at 1 p.m.