Aug. 28, 2009

Box Score

HOUSTON - The Colonels rallied for a second set win, but the hosting Rice Owls rallied for third and fourth set wins as the Nicholls State University volleyball team dropped a hard-fought match in its 2009 season opener at the Mizuno Invitational at Rice University.

The Owls came out strong in the opening frame as a .350 team hitting percentage and 25 digs on Colonel attacks helped Rice to a 25-16 win in the opening set.

However, Nicholls battled back in a hard-fought second set that saw 13 ties and 11 lead changes between the two squads. Freshman Jennifer Brandt paced the Colonels' second-set efforts by posting six of her eight kills on the day. Twenty digs and two critical Colonel blocks kept the Owl attack off balance in the second frame as Nicholls held on for a 25-22 second set win to tie things up at 1-1.

Unfortunatley, for the Colonels, that's as close as they would get. Rice rebounded in the third set of its tournament as a .344 third-set hitting percentage put the Owls back out in front with a 25-11 third-set victory to make it 2-1.

The Colonels tired to rally to force a decisive fifth set, however, a pair of kills each from seniors Rachel Spreen and Amy Whitehead weren't enough as a fourth-set rally fell short. The Owls 25-19 victory handed their Colonels their first defeat of the season by a final of 3-1, yet head coach Chris Laird saw plenty of positives in his team's season opener.

Whitehead led the offensive efforts by posting a .375 hitting percentage (6-0-8) and totaling 21 assists to bring her school-record career total to 2,730. Meanwhile the Colonel defense saw strong performances from sophomore libero Danielle Daigle, who posted 21 assists, and freshman middle blocker Jasmine Harris, who factored in five of the team's eight total blocks in her first collegiate match.

"Even though we came up with a loss, there were some bright spots," Laird said. "We were very excited to get the season underway, and we had some people step up in a big way. I'm hoping we can continue on the progress we showed throughout the match. I was very impressed with Amy Beshir. She did a great job moving around and being available. Jasmine Harris, who has been sick, did a great job of coming out and making key blocks at the right time. And Spreen, Daigle and Whitehead did a good job being consistent as usual."

The Colonels will face a quick turnaround as they return to action on Saturday with a 10 a.m. first serve against traditional Big XII powerhouse Oklahoma. The tournament finale against a Houston Baptist team that won 24 matches last season will follow.

Live stats will be available courtesy of Game Tracker at www.riceowls.com and www.geauxcolonels.com.