Final Stats Box Score and Play-by-Play

HAMMOND, La. - The Nicholls State University women's volleyball team (12-10, 4-5 Southland Conference) fell behind early, dropping the first set of the night to the Southeastern Louisiana Lions (10-16, 1-8 Southland), but the Colonels rallied to take the next three sets and claim a season sweep of the Lions with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-11, 25-20, 25-22) victory on Thursday night.

The Colonels and Lions battled through seven tie scores and four lead changes in a hotly-contested first set.  Southeastern jumped out to a 7-1 lead to open the set, but the Colonels battled back to tie the score at 10-10.  Nicholls went back-and-forth with the Lions the rest of the way as neither side could claim a lead larger than three the rest of the way.  Unfortuantely, for the Colonels, Southeastern put together an 8-3 run late in the set to rally for a 25-23 win and put Nicholls down 1-0.

However, the Colonels quickly rebounded by dominating the second set.  Nicholls turned in a .469 (15-0-32) team hitting percentage while limiting the Lions to -.027 (8-9-37) hitting thanks to four blocks and 19 digs in the second match.  The Colonels cruised to a 20-11 victory to even the match at 1-1.

Both offenses got hot in the third set as Southeastern hit  .282 (16-5-39) in the third.  Fortunately, for Nicholls, the Colonels picked up where they left off, combining to hit .361 (16-3-36) to outpace the Lions.  Three different Colonels recorded four kills, and Nicholls committed just four errors in the third set en route to the 25-20 win and a 2-1 lead.

The Lions refused to go quietly, as Southeastern tried to put together a late charge in the fourth set.  The Colonels looked to be in control of the fourth set, taking a five-point lead at 19-14, but Southeastern rallied to bring the score to within one on three different occasions.  Howeve, the Colonels held on for the 25-22 victory and the 3-1 win.

The Colonels were led by a career-record 52 assists from junior setter Jordan Karst.  Sophomore middle blocker Jasmine Harris added a personal season high 6.0 blocks, and sophomores Rachel Yezak (10 kills, 13 digs) and Jennifer Brandt (15 kills, 10 digs) each turned in double-doubles to help the Nicholls cause on Thursday.

The victory ensures a season sweep of the Lions, who fell to the Colonels on Sept. 17 at Nicholls, and snaps a four-match losing skid for the Colonels against Southland Conference competition.  The Colonels need two more victories to match their 2009 Southland win total and two more wins to surpass their 2009 overall wins mark.

The Colonels will now return to Nicholls to host Stephen F. Austin on Saturday at Stopher Gym.  First serve with the Ladyjacks is set for 2 p.m.