Final Stats THIBODAUX, La. – Fighting through numerous injury and illness that left the team pretty thin, the Nicholls State University women's volleyball team hung tough with the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles Thursday night in Thibodaux, falling in three sets 25-17, 25-17, 27-25 in Stopher Gym.

Without the services of Kayla Mashburn, Ainsley Marroccoli and Marlee Bean due to illness and Brook Fonseca who is still recovering from a concussion, Nicholls (5-16, 2-9 SLC) only had eight healthy players suited up, which also included Kalynn Egea who had 10 digs on the night with an injured right hand.

Although the team was without some key pieces, the Colonels forced a total of 33 ties and 12 lead changes with the Golden Eagles (14-4, 6-2), pushing Oral Roberts to the brink of a fourth set after leading in the third before the visitors fought back to close out the match in extra points.

As a whole the team hit well, producing an average of .214 backed by Kayla Burling's game-high 23 kills and .304 hitting percentage. Holding the bulk of the serving duties, Alyse Barclay finished the night with 35 assists, while Carley Mcinnis tied for the game high in digs with 14 to lead Nicholls.

Although the Colonels finished with just three less kills than Oral Roberts (43-40), the Golden Eagles offence ran like a well-oiled machine and hit .385 for the night with just eight errors on 91 total attempts. ORU's Sara Pope hit a blistering .500 with 18 kills and just three errors, while setter Laura Taylor had 37 assists and last year's league defensive player of the year Bruna Silva had 14 digs.

ORU also recorded eight team blocks, led by Jessica Pancratz's six.

Falling behind by four, Nicholls tied the match at eight and then again so with the two teams tied at 10-10. After a Nicholls timeout, the Golden Eagles went on to outscore the Colonels 8-1, including a 6-0 run to force another Nicholls timeout with ORU up 18-11. Oral Roberts was able to capture three of the next four, but hit a wall at 21 allowing Nicholls to pull within five at 21-16, which was the closest the team would get for the rest of the set eventually falling 25-17.

The Colonels came out in the second set with a lot more activity and led 10-9 before a timeout. The next nine points would have the two teams tied at 14-all, as ORU then went on a three-point swing to get a short lead which nearly evaporated as Nicholls took two of the next three to pull within two at 18-16. However, Oral Roberts came out of another timeout with a 4-0 run to get to 22, putting the game away after an attack error to score the final three points and go up two sets to one.

In the thrilling third set, there were 17 ties and six lead changes throughout, as the Colonels pieced together their best hitting set of the night with 16 kills and .395 average. Neither team was able to gain much ground on the other, as the largest lead in the third was a mere two points. Nicholls' last lead of the match came with the team up 21-19, as another 4-0 run by ORU gave the Golden Eagles a short 23-21 lead that the Colonels cut with the next two points forcing an Oral Roberts timeout. After trading the next four points to sit squared at 25, a Pancratz kill put the Golden Eagles up one, and on the very next service, a ball-handling error was called and ended the match 27-25 in favor of ORU.

The Colonels will be back in action on Saturday afternoon for the team's breast cancer awareness match against the Central Arkansas Sugar Bears at 2 p.m. in Thibodaux.