The Trojans smote ULM in three straight sets Friday night inside Trojan Arena. Five attackers for ULM had four or more kills but the Warhawks could never gather any momentum.

After falling behind in the first set 11-9 due in part to several errors Troy pushed the lead to a seemingly insurmountable 18-9. A furious attempt at a comeback ensued as ULM closed the gap to 22-16, but the effort proved futile. Troy would close out the set 25-17.

An early lead by ULM off of a few kills was all the Warhawks were allowed in the second as Troy came back with a vengeance. The Trojans took seven out of eight points early in the set to erase the Warhawk’s lead and went on to a 25-14 victory.

Senior Kimberlie Alvarado and junior Taylor Zaeske staved off two match points in the third with a kill and an ace before the Trojans closed the deal at 25-21.

Coach Patrick Hiltz puts the responsibility for the loss on his shoulders and feels his team is prepared for only one aspect of the game.

“Physically, we are better than any team I have coached. Mentally, we are weak. I need to be better so they can succeed,” Hiltz said.