Volleyball: Cajuns sweep Warhawks in first of two matches to wrap up regular season

LAFAYETTE, La. – The Ragin’ Cajuns rallied from early deficits in the first two sets and swept the ULM volleyball team, 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-18), Friday night at Earl K. Long Gym.

“This team has bounced through so much adversity over the past few months,” ULM head coach Charlie Olson said. “The list of things we’ve had to overcome is immense, yet we won’t back down. Resiliency doesn’t always equal a win. We are a team that just won’t go away. We are better than we were last week and we will play better tomorrow than we did today. I stand behind this team. We will find a way to overcome this hurdle.”

In the opening set, ULM (1-16 overall, 0-12 Sun Belt Conference) had a pair of four-point leads. The Warhawks went ahead 6-2 before the Ragin’ Cajuns (14-4, 8-4) rallied to tie the set at 6. ULM responded with four straight points of their own, including kills by sophomore Shaska Davis and senior Catherine Griffith, to grab a 10-6 advantage and force a Cajun timeout.

The Warhawks extended the lead to five at 12-7 before the Cajuns battled back. The Cajuns tallied four straight points and 12 of the next 14 points to grab its own five-point lead at 19-14.

ULM seized momentum back with a 6-1 spurt, sparked by three kills from sophomore Kathryn Raschilla, to tie the set at 20. However, the Cajuns claimed the final momentum turn of the set, scoring five of the next six points to take the opening set, 25-21.

In the second set, the Warhawks once again claimed an early lead. ULM used a 6-0 run to grab a 10-6 lead. Again, the Cajuns started their move, scoring four straight points and eight of the next nine points to go on top 14-11. ULM cut the gap to 15-13 on a kill by Davis but could get no closer as the Cajuns steadily pulled away for the win, 25-17.

In the final set, the Cajuns raced out to a 9-4 lead and extended the lead to six at 13-7. ULM fought back, scoring eight of the next 10 points to tie the set at 15 on an attack error. The Cajuns reclaimed a three-point lead at 18-15, but ULM answered with back-to-back points on a kill by senior Haley Coulter and an attack error to trail 18-17. After the teams traded points, the Cajuns closed out the match by scoring six straight points to win the set, 25-18, and the match, 3-0.

Coulter led ULM with eight kills. Freshman Karson Davis had 19 assists. Freshman Chloe Jordan added nine digs.

The Warhawks and Ragin’ Cajuns wrap up their regular season series at 1 p.m. Saturday. The match is televised on ESPN+. A link to live stats is available on the volleyball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com.