Final Stats 1 | Final Stats 2 2010 Nicholls Invitational Tournament Central

Nicholls 3, UAPB 0

Nicholls 3, Southern 0

THIBODAUX - The Nicholls State University women's volleyball team (7-3) stretched it's winning streak to four, and swept first place at the 2010 Nicholls Invitational Presented by Thibodaux Regional Medical Center thanks to wins over Arkansas - PIne Bluff and Southern on Saturday.

The pair of victories come one day after Nicholls rallied for a 3-1 win over South Alabama on the opening day of the tournament.  The Colonels have won seven of their last eight matches after opening the 2010 season with a pair of losses.

Leading the way for the Colonels on Saturday was sophomore middle blocker Jasmine Harris.  The Placentia, Calif. native was named the tournament MVP as the leading vote-getter among the participating head coaches.  Harris narrowly edged out teammate and fellow All-Tournament team honoree Jessica Addicks for MVP honors after leading the Colonels in hitting on day two.

Harris hit .300 (9-2-20) in the Colonels win over UAPB in the first match of the day before recording a .533 (9-1-15) hitting percentage against Southern.

Addicks, meanwhile, was Nicholls leading hitter on the weekend, compiling a .333 (26-6-60) and having a hand in 12.0 blocks on the tournament.

Junior libero Danielle Daigle was named the All-Tournament libero after recording a tournament-high 61 digs on the weekend.  Playing in just ten sets, Daigle average 6.10 digs/set and led a Nicholls defense that limited opponents to a .083 hitting percentage.

Nicholls first challenge of the day came in the form of the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions.  The Colonels found themselves in a dogfight with UAPB early on as Nicholls never led by more than three in the first set.  However, after fighting through four tie scores, the Colonels pulled away for a 25-23 win to take a 1-0 lead.

The Colonels came out strong in the second and third sets, picking up wins by scores of 25-11 and 25-12 to lock up their first win of the day.  Sophomore outside hitter Jennifer Brandt led the way for the Colonels with 11 kills. 

The Colonels returned to the court later in the day to conclude the tournament against Southern.  Nicholls found itself in a struggle early against Southern, battling the Jaguars through six tie scores and three lead changes in the first set before pulling away for a 25-19 first set win.

However, Nicholls got a team-high ten kills from freshman Lauren Chapman, and nine kills from three other Colonels: Addicks, Harris and Brandt as they cruised past Southern in the second and third sets by respective scores of 25-11 and 25-12 to shut the door on the Jaguars 3-0.

The Colonels will return to action when they host the 2010 Nicholls Challenge Presented by Thibodaux Regional Medical Center.  Nicholls will host Southeastern Louisiana, Houston and Louisiana Tech beginning Friday, Sept. 17.