Tournament Info

THIBODAUX, La. – After getting out those first game jitters last weekend, the Nicholls State University women's volleyball team returns to action this weekend taking part in the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic hosted by Louisiana-Lafayette and featuring Nicholls, the University of Houston and Alcorn State.
 
The Colonels open the tournament on Friday night with the marquee time slot, taking on the Ragin' Cajuns at 7 p.m. in Earl K. Long Gym in Lafayette and completing the tournament on Saturday with a 10 a.m. matchup against Houston and 3 p.m. tilt against Alcorn State to finish.
 
The Opening Serve
The Nicholls State University women's volleyball team continues tournament play this weekend, participating in the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Tournament at Louisiana-Lafayette. Nicholls opened the season with a win over Mississippi Valley State, but dropped the next two to Rider and Tulane to sit 1-2 on the season. Kayla Burling and Kayla Mashburn finished the weekend with 35 kills each, as Burling was named to the All-Tournament team after hitting .202 on the weekend with 10 aces.
 
The Opposition
Louisiana-Lafayette
The Ragin' Cajuns are 3-1 on the season after going 2-1 at the Mariott Houston Westchase Classic and defeating Alcorn State in midweek action. ULL is led by Lavinia Tataran's 45 overall kills and Andrea Hole's 128 assists. Louisiana returns five starters and 10 letterwinners from last year's team.
 
Houston
Houston comes into the tournament also 3-1 on the year after going 2-1 at the Delta Zeta Classic at Texas State and defeating Texas Southern in five sets during midweek play. The Cougars are in their first season as members of the American Athletic Conference, and will have two more tournaments before jumping into league play in late September. Courtney Warren leads UH with 57 kills and a 4.07 kills per set average while Sophie Paine averages 10.53 assists per set.
 
Alcorn State
The Braves just opened their season this week, falling to the Cajuns and McNeese State before opening tournament play on Friday.
 
Series Records
The Colonels are 6-0 all-time against Alcorn State, sitting at 5-0 against the Braves in neutral-site matches. Nicholls has not dropped a set to Alcorn in its last three matches, a span which dates back to September of 1993. Nicholls is 0-3 against the University of Houston, in a series dating back to the 1980's. The rivalry with Louisiana-Lafayette dates back to when the program started in the mid-70's, however this will only be the second meeting between the two teams since 1998. It would have been three, but two seasons ago when Nicholls was in the ULL tournament the event was cut short due to a hurricane. ULL is 51-19 all-time against Nicholls, as the Colonels will be looking for their first win against the Ragin' Cajuns since 1998.