MONROE, La. — The ULM volleyball team (6-11, 1-3) defeated Marshall (10-5, 3-1) in a five-set thriller on Saturday afternoon to split the series and earn its first Sun Belt win of the season.
Aniya Hall led the Warhawks, making 14 kills and 12 digs, while Abby Cunningham made 10 kills, five digs and four blocks. Freshman Tatum Clay notched a career-high nine kills on .571 hitting (9-1-14) and added three blocks and aces each.
Clay opened the match with a kill, giving the Warhawks an early lead. The two teams fought to establish themselves, with six ties before a 4-0 run put ULM on the front foot. Briana Raney made two aces to advance the Warhawks, and Aniya Hall put up a solo block to make it 15-13 ULM at the break. Kenzie Behl recorded her third kill of the set to extend the Warhawk lead to four points and force a Thundering Herd timeout. Marshall made a late surge, cutting the lead to one point on three straight set points, but Hall's swing sealed it 25-23 for the Warhawks.
The second set was highly contested, with 15 ties throughout. Aniya Hall was active early, making two kills to put the Warhawks up. ULM managed to take the lead on a Marshall error into the break, after tying the score at 14-all on a Tatum Clay swing. Neither team could break away from the other until the Warhawks regrouped while the score sat at 23-23. A huge block by freshman Zharia Alleyne and setter Morgan Howard clinched the set, 25-23.
Marshall swung the match's momentum in its favor in the third and fourth sets. ULM earned the first point of the third, but it would be the only time it would lead during the set. The Warhawks trailed by as many as six points, but a 5-0 run, highlighted by kills from Cunningham and Behl and an ace by Bre Perrin, made the score 19-19. The set saw one more tie at 21-all, but Thundering Herd block got Marshall on the score board.
Back-to-back aces from team-leader Tatum Clay gave ULM a lead in the fourth set, but Marshall answered with seven consecutive points and never surrendered the lead. The Warhawks trailed by as many as eight and cut into the deficit by four points, but it was too large to overcome. A Marshall ace made the score 25-19, forcing a winner-take-all fifth set.
The shortened fifth set saw nine ties and six lead changes, but the Marshall defense couldn't find an answer for Aniya Hall. She recorded six kills to help lift ULM to victory. The Thundering Herd led 11-10, but a huge solo block by Abby Cunningham tied the score and brought the serve to Eden Pietrzak. The Warhawks took the match, 3-2, on five consecutive points, which included three kills from Hall.
The win marks ULM's first five-set victory of the season and was Marshall's first conference loss.
UP NEXT
The Warhawks will travel to Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Monday, October 5, for the final nonconference meeting of the regular season. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
