Sept. 30, 2008

 

Box Score

 

JACKSON, Miss. - The Nicholls volleyball team extended its winning streak to three matches Tuesday night, sweeping Jackson State 3-0 (27-25, 25-23, 26-24) at T.B. Ellis Gym.

"I was pleased that we won again. Winning builds confidence and we need every win we can get," said Colonel head coach Chris Laird. "But we didn't win in the way we talked about and we didn't stay focused through the match. Hats off to Jackson State. They played a great match and did a great job of competing for every ball and really pushed us to compete on our side for every ball."

The Colonels (4-7, 1-0) were led by senior Chelsey Adams (Gulf Breeze, Fla./Pensacola JC) through the first set as she tallied a team-leading five kills and combined with junior Amy Whitehead (San Antonio, Texas/Douglas MacArthur) for a block. Whitehead was the team leader in assists, dishing out 19 in the frame. Junior Manieka Golden posted five digs, followed by freshman Rachel Yezak (Houston, Texas/Klein) who had four.

As a team, Nicholls hit .280 in the first set, knocking 21 kills and making just seven errors. Yezak hit .667, and was one of three Colonels - Amy Beshir (Huntsville, Ala./Huntsville) & Mallory McInnnis (Meraux, La./Chalmette) - with four kills.

Junior Rachel Spreen (Houston, Texas/Bellaire) led Nicholls through the second frame, logging five kills and hitting .500. Senior Enjoli Ford (New Orleans, La./McDonough 35) posted six digs, while Yezak added four digs and two block assists to her ledger.

In the final frame, Golden hit .857, tallying six kills in seven attempts. Whitehead, who posted seven assists in the second set, finished the third with 12 handouts.

Adams added three block assists to her growing tally, part of four total blocks for Nicholls in the set, while Ford contributed five digs and Yezak had four additional kills.

"We're still working on playing with more composure and a lot more poise," added Laird. "We worked on some things tonight that may have hindered us from winning in a better fashion but they were things that we needed to work on and were necessary to focus on. We've got some things to work on Wednesday and Thursday for a tough conference weekend, but we're excited to play at home."

The Colonels, winners of four of their last six matches, will open the home portion of Southland Conference play this weekend, facing Central Arkansas in the first home match of the 2009 season. Match time is set for 7 p.m. Friday night.

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