ULM Warhawks

MONROE, La. — The ULM volleyball team (7-15, 1-7) fell in four sets (25-23, 20-25, 18-25, 17-25) to Southern Miss (14-5,  5-3) on Friday night at the ULM Activity Center.  

Aniya Hall notched a double-double, making 10 kills and 10 digs, while freshmen middle blockers Zharia Alleyne and Tatum Clay each hit efficiently for the Warhawks. Alleyne made a career-high eight kills, hitting .353, while Clay made seven kills on .375 hitting, as well as making five blocks. Setter Morgan Howard made a season-high four aces, in addition to a double-double (17 assists and 14 digs).  

Zharia Alleyne scored ULM's first point of the night with a big swing, making it 1-2. The Warhawks claimed a 10-9 lead on five consecutive points that included an ace and a kill from Aniya Hall. Southern Miss took a three-point lead into the break, and continued to expand the gap coming out of the media timeout. The Golden Eagles led by six points at 21-15, but the Warhawks responded with four straight points to cut the deficit to two. An ace by Tatum Clay tied the score at 23-all, and a block by Alleyne and Troxell sealed the set 25-23 for ULM.  

The second began similarly to the first, with early ties, until Southern Miss broke out to a larger lead. The Golden Eagles were up 15-9, but the Warhawks chipped away until they trailed by just one at 20-19. But the momentum swung back in Southern Miss's favor, and the Golden Eagles went on to take the set 25-20.  

Marissa Kobelski opened the third set with an ace. The two teams traded points, with nine early ties throughout the set. Southern Miss led by three at the media timeout, and never surrendered the lead again, winning the set 25-18 to get within one of the clinching the match.  

The Golden Eagles kept the pressure on in the fourth set, beginning with a 6-1 run. Setter Bre Perrin earned her fifth kill of the year to bring the serve back to the Warhawks, and ULM got back into the set, capitalizing on a kill by Hall to make it 14-11 USM. The gap proved to be too large, with Southern Miss winning the match on a 25-17 third-set victory.  

UP NEXT — 

The Warhawks will be back in action at home on Friday, October 23, to take on Louisiana Tech as part of the Radiance Technology I-20 Showdown. First serve is set for 6 p.m.