NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Nicholls State University women's volleyball team defeated regional rival University of New Orleans 3-1 on Tuesday night at the Human Performance Center.
The Colonels (7-11, 3-2 SLC) fell behind 9-5 early in the first set, but faught back to take a 19-17 lead, forcing a Privateer timeout. The two teams traded points, battling to a 27-27 tie, before UNO (6-13, 0-6 SLC) was able to score two straight points and take the set 29-27.
In the second set, the Colonels stormed to a 10-5 lead and remained steadily ahead en route to a 25-18 victory. Nicholls looked to be pulling away in the third set, cruising to a 25-16 victory.
The Privateers would battle back in a chess-match-like fourth set. The teams tied at 7-7, 8-8 and 9-9 before UNO took a 12-9 lead, forcing a Colonel timeout. The Privateers extended their lead to five before a Nicholls run narrowed their lead to one and forced a UNO timeout. The Privateers pushed their lead to 21-19 before the Colonels called a timeout to regroup. Nicholls then took a 22-21 lead before ties of 22-22, 23-23, 24-24 and 25-25. Finally the Colonels were able to string together two straight points, earning a 27-25 victory to seal the set and the match.
Heading into Tuesday's match, both schools had already passed last year's total wins. The back-and-forth contest was further proof of the determination from both programs to continue moving forward and upward. With the win, Nicholls has now won more Southland Conference matches than they did all last season.
Kaci Eaton led the Colonels offensively with 19 kills on the night, while adding 11 digs.
Kalynn Egea had a team-high 22 digs while
Stephanie Tobison contributed 18.
Ainsley Marroccoli earned 27 assists and
Alyse Barclay finished with 19.
Emily Weimer filled the stat sheet with a team-leading six blocks, three service aces, nine kills, three assists, and the highest hitting percentage for either squad (.471).
Rondolyn Bryant had a team-high 13 kills while Mikay Sellers-Wiebe finished with 12. Celeste Ramirez led the Privateers in digs with 24, while Sara Hammoutene had 40 assists in the match. Taylor Berry finished with a team-leading six blocks and Brooklyn Frank had three service aces.
The Colonels will make the lengthy drive to Conway, Arkansas for a matchup with the University of Central Arkansas at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Visit geauxcolonels.com to find live stats and the most up-to-date information on Nicholls women's volleyball.
