Final Stats Box Score and Play-by-Play

THIBODAUX -  The Nicholls State University women's volleyball team (9-5, 2-0 Southland Conference) rallied from a first set loss and withstood a late charge from the Lamar University Cardinals (5-8, 1-1 Southland) as the Colonels held on to win a a five-set thriller to keep a share of first place in the Southland East Division on Friday night in Stopher Gym.

The Colonels would have to play from behind early on, as Lamar jumped out to an 11-6 lead in the opening set.  Nicholls slowly crept back into the match, winning 16 of the next 26 points to tie the first set at 21-21, but the Cardinals held on to take a 25-23 win in the first set and a 1-0 lead in the match.

Nicholls rebounded quickly in the second set as sophomore outside hitter Jennifer Brandt led the way with four kills and no errors on 13 attempts in the second for a .308 hitting percentage.  Defensively, the Colonels racked up 23 digs and 5.0 total blocks in the second set to limit the Lamar attack to just a .064 hitting percentage.  After falling behind 1-0 on the first point of the match thanks to a service error, Nicholls went on a 14-6 run to take a seven point lead.  From there, Nicholls cruised to a 25-18 win to even the match at 1-1.

The Colonels continued to build momentum in the third set as freshman middle blocker Lauren Chapman notched six of her match-high 20 kills in the third to help Nicholls outpace the Cardinals.  In a back-and-forth set, Nicholls embarked on a 12-9 run after the score was tied 13-13 to claim the third set and take a 2-1 lead.

Looking to avoid a fifth and final set, the Colonels looked to put away Lamar in the fourth.  However, the Cardinals would not make it easy.  Nicholls got another five kills from Chapman in the fourth while Brandt hit .333 (3-1-6) and sophomore middle blocker Jessica Addicks hit .400 (2-0-5) to help Nicholls keep pace with the Cardinals in a hotly-contested set that saw 18 tie scores and ten lead changes.

After facing set point, down 24-23, the Colonels rallied to go up 25-24.  However, after trading points with the Cardinals to take a 26-25 lead, Lamar put together a rally of its own.  The Cardinals won the next three points, two on service aces to take the 28-26 win and send the match to five.

Lamar started strong in the fifth, taking a 2-0 lead.  However, Nicholls quickly regrouped and went on a 7-1 run to take a 7-3 lead.  The Colonels would have to stave off a Cardinal rally as Lamar pulled to within one at 8-7, but Nicholls pulled away on a 6-1 run.  Brandt's 15th kill of the night sealed the 15-8 win.

Defensively, Nicholls was led by Brandt and junior libero Danielle Daigle who each recorded 17 digs.  Chapman joined Brandt in posting a double-double thanks to a 12-dig performance.  Meanwhile, Addicks led the way up front by having a hand in five of the Colonels' ten blocks on the night.

After heading into the match in a three-way tie for first in the Southland Conference East Division with Lamar and Central Arkansas, Nicholls remains tied for first with UCA after the Sugar Bears beat the Bearkats on Thursday.

The Colonels will return to action on Saturday when they host McNeese State at 2 p.m. in Stopher Gym.