PHOENIX, Ariz – The ULM volleyball team (2-3) dropped the opening match of the GCU Invitational 3-0 (16-25, 20-25,21-25) to Grand Canyon (2-2).
Abby Cunningham had 11 kills, the most for either team, and Morgan Howard made 23 assists. Tatum Clay and Cunningham led the defense, making four blocks each.
Second-year Eden Pietrzak started the match off with a kill to get the Warhawks on the board. ULM scored again on a GCU error to lead 2-1, but it was the only lead the Warhawks would have in the set. Fourth-year Kenzie Behl made back-to-back kills to make the score 8-7 Lopes, but a 3-0 personal run by Grand Canyon's Bella Nunez grew the lead back to 11-7. The Warhawks attempted to battle back, but still trailed by four at the media timeout. The Lopes went on a few 3-0 runs and finished the set 6-2 to claim a 25-16 win.
The Warhawks jumped out to a 4-1 lead to open the second set, thanks to a kill from Behl, a solo block by first-year Tatum Clay, an ace by Pietrzak and a block from Clay and fourth-year Abby Cunningham. The Lopes went on an early run of their own to take an 8-6 lead, but ULM reclaimed it at 14-12 on a couple of GCU errors. Grand Canyon then went on a 6-0 run on Aubrey Bellus' serve to make the score 18-14. The Warhawks fought back to get within two points on another Behl kill (20-18), but the Lopes continued to capitalize and take the set 25-10.
ULM took a 5-3 lead to begin the third set, highlighted by another kill from Cunningham. The Lopes erased the deficit at 8-8, then steadily built a lead. A 3-0 Grand Canyon run made the score 15-11 heading into the media timeout. First-year Myla Matavao came out of the break with a kill, and the Warhawks forced an error to make the deficit just two, but a 4-0 GCU run stifled ULM's rally attempt. GCU reached match point at 24-17, but ULM stacked four straight points to extend the set. However, the Lopes' lead was too large, and the Warhawks fell 25-21.
UP NEXT
The Warhawks will face Temple tomorrow, Saturday, Sept 5, for the second match of the GCU Invitational. First serve is set for 5 p.m. CT (3 p.m. MT).
