THIBODAUX, La. – Senior outside hitter
Stephanie Tobison and junior setter
Jade Piper recorded double-doubles to propel the Nicholls State University volleyball squad to a five-set victory (25-12, 25-22, 21-25, 16-25, 15-8) over Abilene Christian University Friday night at Stopher Gym.
Tobison smashed a team-high 13 kills along with 11 digs. Piper neared a triple-double with 42 assists, 13 digs and a career-high six aces. Piper and Tobison were two of four Colonels (3-17, 1-6 SLC) with double-digit digs as sophomore libero
Emily Venable accumulated a match-high 21 and freshman defensive specialist
Victoria Becerra added 10. Senior middle blocker
Sydney Lerille chipped in 10 kills on an efficient .381 (10-2-21) attacking percentage.
The Wildcats (6-12, 2-4 SLC) received 12 kills from Katelyn Mueller and 11 kills from Lauren Walker. Setter Kendall Bosse also managed a double-double with 35 assists and 14 digs.
Nicholls tallied the first 10 points of the match behind Piper's float serve as she scored five via aces. The Colonels swung at a .412 clip and sided out at a 75 percent rate to take the first set.
"It was a great start," head coach
Tommy Harold said. "It was kind of a quick turnaround from last night. It's great to jump on a team and set the tone early. Jade did a great job distributing the ball. She showed some confidence in her hitters. She went back to them in some tough spots and made them look good. She dug some balls and led the team. That's what we want out of our setter."
Tobison recorded five of her kills in the second frame. Tied at 21, Nicholls earned four of the next five points, concluding with back-to-back Tobison kills to take a 2-0 edge.
After ACU captured the next two sets, The Colonels seized the momentum in the fifth set by jumping out to a 5-2 lead sparked by two kills from junior
Brieanna Hill. The turning point came at 7-6 when Nicholls utilized a three-point spurt to extend its margin to 10-6 before eventually closing on another 5-2 run to secure the win.
"We talked about the same things throughout the match," Harold said. "We just needed to be good over time. We didn't need to be perfect. We needed to stay aggressive; we needed to do the things that helped us be successful early in the match and just make plays over time. I think the girls did a good job to close it out."
The Colonels resume their four-match home stretch Thursday in a 6:30 p.m. contest against the University of Central Arkansas.
For the latest news on Nicholls volleyball, follow the team on Twitter
@Nicholls_VB.
