MONROE, La. – ULM volleyball came up short yet again in a competitive 3-1 (23-25, 26-24, 25-21, 25-18) loss to South Alabama Saturday afternoon.
Aniya Hall,
Kennedy Plummer, and
Madison Derden all recorded double-digit kills on the day with 15, 13, and 13, respectively.
Morgan Howard contributed 29 assists, with
Kenzie Behl collecting a team-leading five blocks.
Camryn Kimes totaled a career-high 27 digs, serving as the libero for the day.
The Warhawks (9-9, 0-4 Sun Belt) started the first set with a 7-4 lead. A 5-1 run by the Jaguars (9-6, 4-0 Sun Belt) erased the lead, flipping it to their side. With a kill by Hall and two USA errors, ULM got the lead back before a 4-1 run by the Jaguars put them back in control.
Trailing 17-14, ULM executed a 5-1 scoring run to take the advantage late. Powered by three kills from Derden, the Warhawks pushed it to set point before she collected another putaway to end the set, giving ULM the 1-0 match lead.
Both teams went back and forth in set two, resulting in a narrow 7-6 lead for the Warhawks. South Alabama responded with a 7-2 scoring run to establish control with a four-point lead. ULM fought back with four unanswered points to tie the set at 13-13.
A 4-1 run by the Warhawks gave them a two-point advantage before both teams settled in. With the score at 21-19 in favor of the home team, South Alabama caught fire, scoring seven of the final ten points to tie the match at 1-1.
It was another close start in the third with the Warhawks holding an 11-10 lead before the Jaguars scored four in a row to take the lead. Similar to the second set, ULM answered with four of its own points to retake the lead. However, USA used a 7-2 run to take control late with a 21-17 score. Down by five, ULM tried to fight back with three straight points, but it was too little too late as South Alabama produced two put-downs to win the set.
Trailing 9-6 in the fourth, the Warhawks powered a 6-0 run to take control. The Jaguars returned the favor down 15-12, as they used eight unanswered points to effectively put the match away, giving ULM its fifth straight loss.
The Warhawks are back at Fant-Ewing Coliseum next weekend as they host Arkansas State.
