Sept. 7, 2007

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tn. - The Nicholls State volleyball team had a full plate in front of them in its match against the Memphis Tigers in the first game of the Tiger Invitational Friday morning. Last year's Conference USA runner-up showed signs of dominance in the first set, but let the Colonels hang around before eventually shutting the door on Nicholls for the three set (30-18, 30-28, 30-28) victory.

Shelby Burton's 13 kill flawless match for Memphis paced the Tigers, who as a team, collectively had a total of 51 kills in the match for a .274 hitting percentage. Rachel Spreen and Chelsea Dockrey led Nicholls with ten kills each and a .280 and .167 hitting percentage respectively.

Memphis pounced on Nicholls quickly in the first set, leading at one point by as many as 10 points, which would prove to be too much for the Colonels to recover from.

The second game was a much different story for both teams, as Nicholls had Memphis on the ropes maintaining a steady lead over the Tigers for most of the match. However, the Colonels would lose the lead late, but regained their composure to tie the set at 28, but two attack errors gave Memphis the second set.

The third set was more of a back-and-forth affair, as each team flirted with the lead at one point during the set. Nicholls seemed to figure out the Tigers, but Memphis would overcome the Colonels and took the third set 30-28.

Senior Casey Wirwille and sophomore Amy Whitehead would combine for 33 of Nicholls' assists, while Laura Cote had 41 for Memphis, along with eight kills on 10 attempts.

Nicholls will next face SEC-member Mississippi State at 4:30 p.m. in the team's second match of the two-day tournament.