THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University women's volleyball team found itself in a back-and-forth battle through four sets, but powered past Incarnate Word in the fifth to take a 3-2 victory on Thursday night at Stopher Gym.
 
The turning point of the match came on the first point of set five. Cardinal middle blocker Bryaunea Hall crushed a monster kill and turned to give a lengthy stare down to the entire Colonel squad. Nicholls (7-16, 2-11 SLC) immediately responded with a 7-0 run. The Colonels secured their largest advantage of the night at 12-4, before Incarnate Word (7-15, 5-8 SLC) scored three straight points to pull within five. The Colonels punched back with three consecutive points of their own, punctuated with a Kaci Eaton ace to win the match.
 
Nicholls jumped out to an early lead on Thursday, scoring the first four points of the contest. The Colonels quickly pushed their advantage to 9-2, before cruising to a 25-17 win in set one.
 
Not to be outdone, the Cardinals jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the second, before easily taking the set, 25-16.
 
After the break, Incarnate Word proceeded to take a 23-14 advantage in the third. Nicholls fought back, scoring six straight points and forcing a Cardinal timeout, but Incarnate Word scored the next two points to take a 25-20 victory. With each point the Cardinals scored, their confidence seemed to grow, and by the end of the third set, Incarnate Word players were literally making dog-barking noises in the direction of the Colonels.
 
The fourth set featured 14 ties, including a 24-24 tie late in the frame. Nicholls picked up the final two points to earn a 26-24 set win and push the match to a pivotal fifth set.
 
Eaton led the Colonels with 16 digs and 15 kills in the victory. Anna Niederhauser earned 10 digs and posted team-highs in both kills (16) and service aces (five). Sydney Lerille turned in a career-high seven blocks for Nicholls, the highest block total for any Colonel since the 2012 season. Alyse Barclay finished with 18 assists to pace the team, while Ainsley Marroccoli and Lucija Barac added 14 and 10 respectively. Kali Schwartz contributed 12 kills and three blocks on the night, while Emily Weimer and Barclay added four blocks apiece. Nicholls finished with a season-high 22 blocks as a team.
 
Jordan Reifsteck (19 digs), Kaitlyn Brooks (16 assists) and Autumn Lockley (13 kills) led the Cardinals in the loss.
 
Nicholls will host Abilene Christian (Saturday, Nov. 7 at 1 p.m.) and Southeastern La. (Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 6:30 p.m.), before closing out the regular season in Lake Charles against McNeese State (Saturday, Nov. 14 at 12:30 p.m.).
 
Sarah Siemens (870 assists), Madison Hoover (430 digs), Jennifer Loerch (318) and Lauren Walker (88 blocks) headline the Wildcats' attack. When Abilene Christian and Nicholls faced off earlier this season, Siemens totaled 50 assists, Hoover earned 30 digs and Loerch finished with 24 kills.
 
Mikayla Shippy (549 assists), Brooke Balser (343 digs), Landry Bullock (281 kills) and Veronica Turk (60 blocks) lead Southeastern La. In the last meeting between the Lions and Colonels on Oct. 29, Haley Baker dished out 32 assists, Landry Bullock picked up 19 kills and Monia Ramon earned a team-high 15 digs.
 
Admission to all Nicholls home volleyball games is absolutely free! Come out and support your Colonels!
 
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