Oct. 24, 2009

Box Score

ARLINGTON, Texas - After falling behind 2-0, the Nicholls State University women's volleyball team (9-14, 3-6 Southland Conference) rallied to force a decisive fifth set. However, after a five-set battle that saw 14 tie scores and seven lead changes, it was the Texas-Arlington Mavericks (9-12, 5-4 Southland) who were able to hold on to give Nicholls its first loss in Arlington in six years by a score of 3-2 (17-25, 22-25, 25-14, 25-15, 9-15) on Saturday.

Rachel Yezak led the way offensively for the Colonels with 13 kills and just one error on 30 attempts for a .400 hitting percentage while also finishing just one dig shy of a double-double.

Senior outside hitter Manieka Golden added 12 more kills and five Colonels posted eight or more digs, but it wasn't enough to give Nicholls its fifth straight win on Arlington's home court. A streak that dated back to 2003.

"I'm not a big believer in moral victories because it's still a loss," head coach Chris Laird said. "But we did a great job battling back after we got down 2-0. UTA is a good team and they always play very well at home, so we did a good job forcing them to five sets. Overall, I'm pleased with our effort and we're all looking forward to getting back and playing at home again."

The Mavericks got off to a fast start in the first set, hitting .304 as a team and posting a sideout percentage of 72.0 en route to a 25-17 win.

The Colonels tried to rally in the second as freshman Jennifer Brandt notched five kills and Nicholls hit .216 as a squad. However, the Mavs managed to hit .387 and hang on for a 25-22 win and a 2-0 lead.

Nicholls rallied in the third as four aces and a .348 hitting percentage led to a 25-14 win to bring the Colonels to within one at 2-1.

The Colonels recorded as many errors as kills in the fourth, fortunatley, Nicholls was able to take advantage of 17 Maverick errors to claim a 25-15 win and force a fifth and final set.

After falling behind early, the Colonels rallied to within two at 10-8. However, the Mavericks closed out the fifth set on a 5-1 run to claim the win.

The Colonels will now return to Nicholls to face Northwestern State on Friday Oct. 30. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at Stopher Gym.