Volleyball fell to UT-Arlington Friday night in another three-set sweep.
Head coach Patrick Hiltz was displeased with the effort in the most recent games. ere was “no fire, no desire,” he said. “No matter how well we perform in practice, it doesn’t matter if you can’t execute and perform at your best on game day.”
The team did not play its best game as UTA snatched the first two sets easily. The Warhawks had twice as many side-outs as their opponents but only successfully completed one less. They also committed 24 errors in the match.
Sophomore Sarah Woods paced the oFFense with four kills. Hope Pawlik and Catherine Griffith added three more each. Tara Jenkins led the offense with 10 assists followed by Presleigh Williams with five of her own.
The Warhawk defense was led by freshman libero Albany Schaffer who had 13 digs on the night. Redshirt freshman Catherine Griffith had the only block on the night for the Warhawks.
The quick three-point ULM lead was erased quickly by the Mavericks. After the Albany Schaffer ace, they would then attack and take a commanding 21-8 lead on a ULM error. Another ULM error closed the first set (25-10).
The second set began with a furious six-point Mavericks run. e onslaught continued throughout the set as the lead expanded to a 17-3 advantage after a Maverick kill. UTA won the second set with a (25-9) score.
The third set was a close battle between the two teams. ere were nine ties with the lead changing hands six times. Both teams created small runs with neither gaining significant advantage over the other.
After a Kalena Caruthers kill, the Mavericks offense erupted on another six-point streak which led to a 20-14 advantage. They would soon finish the set and match (25-15).
Looking forward, Coach Hiltz expects better performance from his team.
“We have to start seeing some change soon,” he said. “Even a desire to change would be a start.”
The team will begin a five-game home stand to end the regular season. e schedule will give the Warhawks the opportunity to host in-state rival ULL along with their two opponents from this past weekend. Of the remaining competition, only two teams have a winning conference record this season.
The first home game will be against South Alabama Friday, Nov. 4 at 6:30 p.m.
