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THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University volleyball team honored its seniors on Saturday and the trio put together a masterful performance in front of the home crowd as the Colonels defeated rival New Orleans, 3-1 (25-19, 25-18, 23-25, 25-19), Saturday afternoon at Stopher Gym.
Kaci Eaton led the three seniors with 15 kills on a .300 hitting percentage, while
Kali Schwartz had 13 at a .294 clip. As a team, Nicholls hit a season-high .333 with
Lucija Barac directing the offense with 39 assists.
While the offense had its best showing of the season, the Colonel defense held the Privateers (4-21, 1-11 SLC) to a .169 clip, which was the lowest for an opponent in league play for Nicholls (4-20, 3-9 SLC). Three players had plus-20 kills, highlighted by 28 from
Alexa Perry. Schwartz finished with a career-high 26 digs and
Stephanie Tobison, who had 13 kills, joined Schwartz with a double-double after recording 21 digs.
Eaton had four aces in the win, with three straight coming in the first set. Her barrage led to a 9-3 advantage and the Colonels never trailed in the set. The score was only tied once again in the second at 3-3 before Nicholls used a staggering .471 hitting percentage to take a 2-0 lead.
UNO switched up its lineup in the third and it paid dividends as they hung on for a two-point win. The Privateers led 22-17 before a late comeback by Nicholls came up just short.
In the fourth set, Tobison pulled Nicholls within one at 5-4 with a kill and went on to serve seven consecutive times as the Colonels grabbed a 10-5 lead. The home team led by as much as 10 in the set before Barac, who entered the contest ranked third in the Southland with 28 aces, added one to her total to end the match.
Other leaders for Nicholls included
Emily Weimer with eight kills at a .500 clip and
Jade Piper handed out 15 assists.
The Colonels close out the season with three of four matches on the road, starting next Thursday (Nov. 3) at UIW. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
