Aug. 30, 2008

Box Score

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - In its second match of the season, Nicholls fell to 0-2, as Alabama claimed a 3-0 (25-5, 25-13, 25-10) win over the Colonels in the Bama Bash.

"I was disappointed in our lack of effort," said head coach Chris Laird. "We didn't even give ourselves a good chance to compete and we didn't focus and prepare for the match the way we should have. We lost the match while Alabama was doing their warm-ups. You could see that we got out on the floor with a lack of intensity and focus and that's unacceptable for us, especially with as much time as we talk about those things."

The Crimson Tide quickly took a 1-0 lead in the match, defeating Nicholls 25-5 in the first set. Alabama jumped out to an early 8-0 advantage before the Colonels got on the board with a Tide error. Nicholls pulled within 11 points (16-5) before Alabama's Jennifer Weber served out the set.

For Nicholls, junior Manieka Golden (Porter, Texas/Galveston College) posted one kill and three digs. Freshman Danielle Daigle (Napoleonville, La./Ascension) had one dig and dished out one assist, while junior Amy Whitehead (San Antonio, Texas/Douglas MacArthur) had a kill and an assist in the frame.

Lauren Martin led Alabama with three kills and six assists, followed by Lindsey Buteyn's four kills (.571%) and 3 total blocks.

The Colonels hung with Alabama through the second set, keeping within six points through much of the frame until the Tide used a 9-3 scoring run to finish the match with a 25-13 victory.

Senior Chelsey Adams (Gulf Breeze, Fla./Pensacola JC) posted three kills and combined with Golden for a block assist in game two. Golden added two kills and a dig to her total, while freshman Rachel Yezak (Houston, Texas/Klein) tallied three digs and recorded a service ace. Junior Rachel Spreen (Houston, Texas/Bellaire) got on the board for Nicholls with two kills and three digs in the second stanza.

Calli Johnson's three kills and three block assists led Alabama, while Martin handed out eight assists in the frame as the Crimson Tide took a 2-0 match advantage.

Nicholls took it's first lead of the match in the third set, taking advantage of a Tide error to take a 1-0 lead. But Alabama came back to take a 25-10 win and claim a 3-0 match victory.

"We had some bright spots. We did rally in the second set for a few minutes and in the third set for a bit, but it was late. It took too long for us to try and let it go and not be scared.

For the Colonels, junior Amy Beshir (Huntsville, Ala./Huntsville) and senior Mallory McInnis (Meraux, La./Chalmette) each had two kills, with McInnis adding three digs. Freshman Jordan Karst (Woodstock, Ga./Etowah) dished out five assists in the frame.

Alabama's Alyssa Meuth and Ashley Frazier each posted three kills and Martin added six assists to her total.

Beshir, Adams, Spreen and Golden each finished with three kills in the match, with Beshir logging a .286 hitting percentage through the three sets. Yezak had six total digs, while Spreen and Golden each posted four. Whitehead finished with 10 assists, while Karst posted six.

"We really didn't play Nicholls volleyball today. Alabama didn't give us a chance to. They are well-coached and a good team. We just need to refocus for our match against Western Kentucky and start out that match with more confidence, regardless of the score."

The Colonels will play again at 4:30 p.m., facing Western Kentucky (2-0) in the final game of the tournament.

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