The conference portion of ULM’s volleyball schedule began just about as difficult as it could have: a trip to San Marcos to face Texas State. The Bobcats have made eight conference championship appearances within the last 10, taking home the title four of those eight times.
Friday’s sets saw ULM keeping relatively close to Texas State, save for a brutal 25-11 set four to close the game.
Set one had the Warhawks and the Bobcats always within two points of each other. With ULM leading 10-8, Texas State began a run that would see the end of ULM leading for the rest of the match. From this point, the Warhawks were always playing from behind and were constantly interrupted by numerous multiple-point runs. The Bobcats took the set off a service error by ULM.
In the second set, both teams went point for point and fought to pull far ahead of the other. A seven-point run started by a Brynn Botkin kill gave the Warhawks a five-point lead, and a Texas State attack error gave ULM the set.
Set three opened with ULM scoring one point and Texas State answering with five of its own. The Bobcats outpaced the Warhawks’ scoring, with ULM unable to come back soon enough to prevent a 25-23 set three loss.
Texas State suffocated the Warhawks in set four, scoring nine in a row to go up 21-6. ULM had the momentum to come back, but a service error by the Warhawks gave the Bobcats the set and the match.
Saturday began eerily similar to Friday, with Texas State taking set one and ULM taking set two. In set three, the Bobcats adjusted and went up 11-4. ULM’s flame of momentum was snuffed once again, and Texas State took the third set 25-13.
The fourth set showed some improvement, with the Warhawks able to hold a close set for most of the set. With ULM trailing just 16-15, Texas State decided to end things. The Bobcats went up 20-15 with the help of a sanction point on ULM’s team, and after a lone point by the Warhawks, the Bobcats finished out the set, winning 25-16.
The Warhawks have their first home match of the 2023 season on Thursday against the Jaguars of South Alabama.
