Little Rock completes weekend sweep of Warhawks, 3-1

MONROE, La. – The ULM volleyball team had a fast start Saturday, but it wasn’t enough as Little Rock won the final three sets to take the match, 3-1 (18-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-17), at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

“Not a bad way to finish our regular season, honestly,” ULM head volleyball coach Charlie Olson said. “It wasn’t the storybook ending by any means, but we played very good volleyball. We’ve worked on some things over these past few weeks and we finally saw them come together.”

In the opening set, the Warhawks (1-20 overall, 0-16 Sun Belt Conference) used a 5-0 run to take an early 7-3 lead on a kill by junior Cali Assaley. Little Rock (4-13 overall, 4-12 Sun Belt Conference) pulled within a point three different times, including at 10-9, but ULM pushed the lead back to three on a kill by senior Alix Christie and a service ace by Assaley. The two sides battled back-and-forth until Little Rock made another push to cut the gap to 17-16. After a ULM timeout, the Warhawks came out on fire, scoring eight of the final 10 points to win the set, 25-18.

In the second set, Little Rock took control early, building an 11-6 lead. ULM responded with three straight points, including a block assist and kill each for sophomore Kathryn Raschilla and Christie to cut the deficit to 11-9. The Trojans regained a five-point lead at 15-10 and maintained a nearly five-point margin until they led 21-16. ULM made one last charge in the set, scoring five of the next six points, closing the spurt on a service ace by Gosen, to pull within one at 22-21. Out of a timeout, Little Rock fought back with three of the next four points to close the set, 25-22, and even the match, 1-1.

In the third set, ULM came out in control to claim a quick 4-1 lead on kills by Gosen, Coulter and freshman Karson Davis. Little Rock quickly answered to tie the set at 4 before the two sides went back-and-forth. The Trojans used a 4-0 run to build a 12-9 lead on back-to-back blocks. ULM pulled within two at 12-10 and 13-11 before the Trojans used a 3-0 spurt to build the lead to five at 16-11. The Warhawks closed within three again at 17-14, but Little Rock rattled off four straight points to claim a 21-14 lead and rolled to the 25-17 third set win to take a 2-1 lead.

In the fourth and final set, ULM took a quick 4-2 lead on three straight Trojan errors. Little Rock answered with four straight points to take the lead for good at 6-4. Little Rock built a four-point advantage at 10-6 before ULM used a 3-0 spurt to get within a point at 10-9 on Davis’ service ace. The Warhawks still trailed by one at 11-10 when Little Rock embarked on an 8-2 run to seize control at 19-12. ULM pulled as close as four points twice, at 19-15 and at 20-16, but couldn’t climb any closer as Little Rock won the set, 25-17, and the match, 3-1.

Assaley led ULM with a 15-kill, 12-dig double-double. Coulter added her second double-double of the series with 10 kills and 13 digs. Davis tallied a season-high 41 assists, while sophomore Madeline Hogan had a career-high 32 digs. Little Rock hit .205 in the match to .110 for ULM.

“I’m so proud of our team for continuing to fight, especially after the morning match yesterday,” Olson said. “Most teams would throw in the towel, but after the match today we’ve already closed this chapter and began talking about the conference tournament. We will get a week off from competition, which will aide in rest and recovery, as well as giving us a chance to focus on small adjustments prior to departing to Foley, Alabama.”

The Warhawks are off until 2:30 p.m. Nov. 18 when they open play at the Sun Belt Conference Championships at the Foley Sports Complex. As the No. 6 seed from the West Division, ULM will face West Division top seed Texas State in the first match for Pool C. The Warhawks and Bobcats will be joined in the pool by the fourth seed from the East Division, which has yet to be confirmed by the Sun Belt Conference.

For the latest on ULM volleyball, visit ULMWarhawks.com.