ULM volleyball (2-5) won its first game in the Green Wave Classic with a 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-23, 25-13) against Grambling State (2-6) on Friday.

ULM’s volleyball coach, Daniel Cabrera, who previously worked as an assistant coach for ULM, led the team in the Green Wave Classic this season. ULM named him as the women’s volleyball coach in July 2024. Under him, the Warhawks had a rough start to the season, losing five games out of the first six.

The win was a much-needed boost for the team, ending its three-match losing streak from the UTA classic.

ULM Hitter Ariana Brown had a strong start with multiple hits, contributing a total of 16 kills.

“Ari performed well from the outside hitter spot,” Cabrera said,

Along with Ariana, Morgan Howard played a crucial role in the offense, tallying 32 assists and 8 digs.

ULM defensive specialists Cameron Rogers and Kali Walker each had 19 digs and 16 digs, respectively. Camryn Kimes also supported the ULM defense with her 12 digs.

“They had the defense locked,” Cabrera said.

The first set left little room for error, with nine tied scores and five lead changes. The set was even initially, with both teams trading points and remaining at 11-11. The Warhawks broke the tie with a 4-1 scoring run, followed by another 5-1 run. These runs allowed the Warhawks to pull ahead from Grambling.

The second set (25-23) was the most competitive set of the match, having five tied scores and three lead changes. With a 3-point run at the end, the Tigers managed to get a lead of 23-20.

With ULM close to dropping the set, Brown stepped up and delivered three kills that led the Warhawks to a crucial comeback. The team scored two additional points to steal the second set from Grambling.

ULM took an early lead with 11-5 in set three. Grambling tried to come back with only 5 points at 18-13 but couldn’t maintain momentum.

Set three ended with a strong 7-0 run, closing out with an impressive 25-13 victory.