With Sun Belt Conference action in full swing, the ULM Warhawks (5-14) looked to boast their conference standings in a two-game road stand against UT Arlington (3-10) and Texas State (6-11) last weekend.  The UTA Mavericks and Texas State Bobcats entered the weekend with two of the worst records in the Sun Belt. ULM was unable to best either of their two rivals on the road, and the Warhawks had two of their lowest scoring contests of the season. 

Even though Texas is the home state of 10 of the 17 Warhawks on the roster, their trip to the Lone Star State was anything but a warm welcome home.

ULM was swept 3-0 in both matches. The Bobcats took the win 25-11, 25-7, 25-15 last Friday. This was the second time this season that ULM was held to under 10 points in a set. The offense stuttered again in their loss to the UTA Mavericks 25-16, 25-14, 25-16. 

The Warhawks offense was out of commission versus the Bobcats. Cali Assaley led ULM with seven kills while Texas State had four players exceed her mark, including 11 kills by Janell Fitzgerald of the Bobcats. Texas State caught fire early in each set including a 9-0 run to open 

the second set of action versus ULM. The Warhawks handed out error after error that put them further behind the Bobcats.

Through three sets, ULM scored back-to-back points only twice. Conversely, the Bobcats 

went on multiple scoring runs per set which included six unanswered scores to cap off the first set. The Warhawks were led in assists by Mariana Volponi e Giordan with 14. Her total was doubled by Texas State’s Emily DeWalt who had 28 assists. ULM’s Madeline Hogan led both teams with 14 digs. ULM had a single block, a far cry from the defensive effort put forth by Texas State who finished with 12 blocks.

ULM’s offense saw minor improvements in the 24 hours between facing Texas State and UTA, but the Warhawks were still far from putting together a winning effort. 

Assaley once again led her team with kills, this time posting nine. Darby Fisher recorded 16 assists which was the most for the Warhawks. As a team, ULM got five blocks on the Mavericks. ULM’s Kaitlin Davis led both teams with three service aces and ULM had five total versus UTA. 

Just like in their last contest, ULM allowed the Mavericks to charge out and take a large lead. In set two, the Mavericks shut ULM down as they took an 8-0 lead.

The Warhawks were limited on attack with only 25 kills and a staggering 19 assists through three sets of action.

The Warhawks have a shot at ending their three-game slump on Friday when they host the 10-6 Little Rock Trojans.