THE BASICS
Teams: ULM (8-21, 2-9 SBC)
USA (14-11, 5-7 SBC)
Troy (8-21, 2-10 SBC)
Times: Friday, 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, 12:00 p.m.
Location: Monroe, La. (Fant-Ewing Coliseum)
Monroe, La. - The ULM volleyball team will return home for the start of a five-game homestand that begins this weekend with South Alabama and Troy.
NOTEABLES
-The Warhawks bring an 8-21 overall record to the table this weekend. The team has gone winless since its win over Louisiana Tech. The team has taken sets off of UL-Lafayette, Little Rock and Texas State since the win over Louisiana Tech. ULM is 2-3 on its home court this season and looks to flip that around this weekend.
-South Alabama brings and overall record of 14-11 to the table this weekend. The Jaguars most recent win was against Appalachian State last weekend. USA brings a team hitting percentage of .232 that puts them at third in the conference in hitting percentage. As a team, South Alabama is also ranked fourth in the conference in assists (11.69 assists per set) and kills (12.45 kills per set).
-ULM and USA have played against each other sporadically since 1984. South Alabama leads the series 11-6. The last time that the Warhawks took a win over South Alabama was in 2013 in Monroe. In Monroe, the teams hold and even 3-3 record.
-Troy brings an 8-21 overall record to the table this weekend. The team comes off of a loss against Coastal Carolina last weekend. The last wins for the Trojans were against Appalachian State and South Alabama. Troy will open the weekend at UL-Lafayette on Friday night. As a team, Troy is ranked fifth in the conference in blocks (1.96 blocks per set).
-ULM and Troy have played against each other since 2005. Troy leads the series. The Warhawks put together a three-game win streak over the Trojans in 2013 and 2014 before Troy regained momentum to take the next two games in 2015.
FROM COACH HILTZ
Last time out: It felt like we found a little bit of rhythm last time out. The key for us this weekend will be to carry that into the next match.
What we've worked on: Our troubles lately have nothing do with our abilities and our excellence as pure volleyball players. We have to learn to play together as a team. When things are going well, anyone can be a good teammate. Any team can look great and play great if everything goes their way all the time. But that's simply not reality. Every team will face adversity. Truly great teams stick together through the good and the bad times. We have to learn how to stick together and rely on each other at all times. When we do that, great things will happen for this group.
About the Teams: South Alabama and Troy should be excellent opportunities for us to once again be tested so we can see how much of a team we truly are. I'm excited for this weekend. We've learned a lot recently. We are ready to start winning again.
UP NEXT
-After the weekend the Warhawks will take on UL-Lafayette for the second time this season. The teams will meet inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Tuesday night.
