LAFAYETTE, La. – After a disappointing 3-1 loss in Friday's opener against Air Force, the Nicholls State University volleyball team quickly rallied back with a dominating 3-0 victory over Alabama A&M to conclude day one of the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Volleyball Classic at Earl K. Long Gym.
 
The Colonels (2-4) will wrap up action in the classic on Saturday against host Louisiana-Lafayette at 3 p.m. Live video and a live stream for the match will be available.
 
Air Force 3, Nicholls 1 (25-16, 25-22, 17-25, 26-24)
 
Trailing 2-0 against Air Force (3-1), the Colonels stormed back to take the third set and led for most of the fourth before running out of gas in their 3-1 loss.
 
Emily Weimer and Sydney Lerille paced the offense with eight kills each. Weimer had a big day defensively as well as she accounted for nine of the Colonels' 16 blocks. Emily Venable had a double-double with a team-high 13 assists and tied two players – Alexa Perry and Stephanie Tobison – with 10 digs.
 
After a sluggish start, the Colonels jumped out to a sizable lead in the third. Nicholls led 7-2 after an ace by Lucija Barac and then reeled off five straight points for a 12-4 advantage. The Colonels led by as much as 10 in the 25-17 victory.
 
The final set looking promising as Nicholls went up 6-0. Sydney Lerille had an ace during the stretch and Brieanna Hill ended it with a kill. Air Forced used a run of its own to close the deficit but did not take the lead until the end of the set. Air Force eventually tied it at 22, but Nicholls answered with the next two points to come within inches of tying the match. However, the Falcons used three kills to fuel a 4-0 run to win 26-24, ending the match in four. 
 
Nicholls 3, Alabama A&M 0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-20)
 
After another slow start, the Colonels won a close first set before going on to cruise to their second victory of the season.
 
Tobison reached double figures in kills for the Colonels with 10, while Hill and Lerille added six each.
 
In the first set, Alabama A&M built a 13-7 advantage as Nicholls could not find its groove. But two key runs proved to be enough for an opening-set victory. The Red and Gray claimed five straight points to pull within one and trailing 21-18, the Colonels ended the set with the final seven points, capped on an ace by Amari Bellard.
 
Nicholls dominated the second and third sets, helped by a .364 hitting percentage in the second.
 
For the most up-to-date information on Nicholls volleyball visit geauxcolonels.com. Be sure to follow the team on Twitter @Nicholls_VB.