Oct. 3, 2008

Box Score

THIBODAUX, La. - In the first home match of the 2008 campaign, Nicholls dropped a tough five-set match to SLC foe Central Arkansas, falling 3-2 (21-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-14, 15-13) Friday night in Stopher Gym.

"First and foremost," said head coach Chris Laird, "I want to say thank you to our familes, friends and fans who came out. It was a great show of support and it was unfortunate that we couldn't finish the game like we had hoped to, but Central Arkansas is a great team. They are well-coached and made some key plays at the end."

The Colonels (4-8, 1-1 SLC) were led by juniors Manieka Golden (Porter, Texas/Galveston CC) and Rachel Spreen (Houston, Texas/Bellaire) who each posted double-doubles on the night. Golden recorded a team-leading 13 kills, adding 12 digs, while Spreen tallied 12 kills and a team-high 14 digs.

Freshman Rachel Yezak (Houston, Texas/Klein) also reached double digits offensively with 10 kills and a career-high eight block assists. Junior Amy Beshir (Huntsville, Ala./Huntsville) was second on the squad with seven block assists on the night.

Junior Amy Whitehead (San Antonio, Texas/Douglas MacArthur) handed out 33 assists through the five sets.

"We could have used a few more bounces in our direction, but that's how things happen," Laird said. "I'm very proud of the girls and I'm trying to encourage them to keep their heads up and come back to play tomorrow because we still have 14 conference matches left."

The first set went to Nicholls 25-21 as the Colonels, who at one point held a lead by as many as seven points, were led by Spreen's five kills (.500) and five digs from Golden.

Central Arkansas turned right around, claiming the second set 25-22 as Emily Gordon and Chloe Smith each posted five kills. For Nicholls, Golden tallied five kills, hitting .455 in the frame.

The Colonels rallied, taking a 26-24 victory in set number three behind four kills from Golden and three more from Yezak.

The Bears were balanced in the fourth set as three players posted three kills each. UCA hit .462 as a team while holding Nicholls to .097 in game four to claim a 25-14 win and send the match to a fifth game.

In the deciding game, with the score knotted at 13, Smith drove back-to-back kills past the Colonels to seal the match for Central Arkansas.

"We've done a great job so far and we're 1-1" Laird added. "This was definitely an emotional loss for us and a pretty tough one. We're a good team, we just need to regroup and make sure that we're taking care of business when we get a chance."

The Colonels will return to the court Saturday, facing Northwestern State at 2 p.m.

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