South Alabama’s women’s volleyball team continued its strong start in Sun Belt Conference play with a 3-1 victory over ULM on Saturday at Fant-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe, Louisiana. The Jaguars improved their overall record to 9-6 and remain undefeated in conference matches at 4-0.
Junior Sarah Gooch led the team with 22 kills, her third match of the season reaching at least 20 kills. She also posted a .465 hitting percentage and recorded her first career double-double by adding a career-high 11 digs. Cambria Gaier contributed 13 kills, while Alexa Strandberg and Maradith O’Gorman each added eight.
Setter Anna Loberg registered her 12th career double-double with 35 assists and 10 digs. Briana Wilson led four South Alabama players who finished in double digits for digs, recording 22 herself.
For ULM (9-9, 0-4 SBC), Aniya Hall led with 15 kills. Kennedy Plummer and Madison Derden both had 13 kills, while Camryn Kines posted a match-high 27 digs.
Head coach Jesse Ortiz commented on the match: “Today’s match was a gutsy performance by both teams. ULM came out swinging and was really getting after it hitting off the top of the block. They were uber aggressive with their swings, especially in bad situations. They definitely put us to the test and I like the fact that with all our kills that we had, we weren’t very high error, but it an opponent is connecting on these big swings, they are going to be formidable. I love the fact that we stuck together as a team and that we were focused. When they kept coming after us, we kept working for our opportunities. I’m really proud of our group and the maturity they showed trying to get the win.”
The Jaguars dropped the first set narrowly but rallied to win three straight sets (26-24, 25-21, 25-18) to secure their fourth consecutive victory. The win extends South Alabama’s streak over ULM to thirteen matches and gives Ortiz a perfect record against the Warhawks.
Several players reached milestones during this series: Wilson surpassed the career mark of 900 digs while Loberg went over 1,500 career assists.
South Alabama will continue its road trip next weekend with two matches against Texas State at Strahan Arena.
For further updates on South Alabama Volleyball, fans can follow @SouthAlabamaVB on Twitter or visit USAJaguars.com.
