THIBODAUX, La. – Behind double-doubles from Kaci Eaton, Kali Schwartz and Stephanie Tobison, the Nicholls State University volleyball team took down Southeastern Louisiana, 3-2 (25-21, 23-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-12), Thursday night at Stopher Gym.
 
It came down to a decisive fifth set, which featured nine ties and two lead changes. Neither team led by more than a point before the break, but huge back-to-back plays gave Nicholls the upper hand the rest of the way. With the match tied at 9-all, freshman setter Emily Venable dumped one over for a kill before she set up Eaton for one of her team-high 15 kills, giving Nicholls a 11-9 advantage. Still leading with the score 14-12, the Colonels clinched the match when Schwartz hammered home an attack that ate up the Lady Lion defender to seal the victory.
 
The final kill was Schwartz' 14th of the night, pairing with her 18 digs. Eaton added 13 digs and Alexa Perry finished with a match-high 26. Venable, along with setters Jade Piper and Lucija Barac, dished out 51 assists as Nicholls (7-20, 2-9 SLC) hit .225 in the win. Piper led the way with 19 helpers and Barac finished with 16.
 
The Colonels took the opening set, 25-21, despite being outhit by Southeastern (5-19, 4-7 SLC), .344-.233. Nicholls broke a 17-17 tie with six straight points, highlighted by an ace from Tobison. Eaton ended the first set at 25-21 with a kill.
 
In the second, Nicholls let a three-point lead slip away midway through, but were still on top at 23-22 following a kill by Schwartz. However, SLU tallied three straight kills to even the match at 1-0.
 
For the next set, the Lady Lions used a 7-2 run to grab a 19-13 lead for a 2-sets-to-1 advantage. SLU then looked well on its way to clinching the match in the fourth after taking a 21-18 lead. Nicholls head coach Tommy Harold called a time out to rally the team, and the Colonels responded with the match's next seven points to force a fifth set. Venable had an ace during the run, and each of the three killer-leaders for the Colonels registered one.
 
The Colonels posted their best hitting percentage of the night in the decisive set, finishing with a .364 clip.
 
Nicholls totaled nine blocks in the win, getting six assists from Schwartz. Emily Weimer added five and Sydney Lerille had four.
 
Nicholls will host New Orleans on Saturday for Senior Day, with the match scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.