THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University women's volleyball team closed out non-conference play on a high note, going 2-1, at the Flo Hymen Collegiate Cup in Houston, Texas. The squad will now turn its attention to Southland Conference play, beginning with two contests on the road at Stephen F. Austin (Thursday at 6:30 p.m.) and Northwestern State (Saturday at 1 p.m.).
 
Thursday's contest can be viewed live on ESPN3.
 
The Colonels (5-7) faced an extremely challenging non-conference schedule, holding their own against opponents that included Southern Miss, Houston (twice), Louisiana-Lafayette, Tulane and TCU. Nicholls will take on a pair of equally battle-tested opponents as the team opens league play.
 
The Ladyjacks (7-8) began their 2015 campaign with a three straight losses, but responded with a six-game tear that included sweeps over Northeastern, Texas Tech, South Dakota State and Columbia. Stephen F. Austin then downed Louisiana-Monroe and Tulsa, both on the road. The Ladyjacks subsequently suffered a five-game skid that included being swept by Arkansas State, North Texas, Baylor and Rice, before winning their most recent match against UNC-Greensboro, 3-0.
 
The Lady Demons (2-11) started out 2-2, after defeating Tennessee State and Louisiana-Lafayette, with losses to Oral Roberts and Ole' Miss. Since that time, NSU has lost nine-consecutive matches. Over that drought, the Lady Demons faced a series of incredibly tough opponents, including Alabama, Southern Miss, Arkansas, Washington State, Portland State and Texas Tech.
 
Due to a combination of underwhelming and overwhelming non-conference opponents for the Colonels, Ladyjacks and Lady Demons, it is difficult to gauge the caliber of each team prior to this weekend's competition.
 
Kayla Mashburn (154 kills) and Alyse Barclay (268 assists) spearhead the Nicholls offense. Anna Niederhauser leads the team in service aces (18) and is second on the team in both kills (110) and digs (111). Stephanie Tobison paces the squad with 132 digs and Emily Weimer has a team-leading 22 blocks on the season.
 
The Colonels will next head to Texas for battles with Sam Houston (Thursday, Oct. 1 at 6:30 p.m.) and Lamar (Saturday Oct. 3 at 1 p.m.).
 
Visit geauxcolonels.com for live stats, video and the most up-to-date information on Nicholls volleyball.