HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Nicholls State University volleyball team fell 3-0 and 3-1 to the University of Miami and Jackson State University, respectively, in its final day of the Southern Miss Invitational Saturday inside Reed Green Coliseum.

Miami 3, Nicholls 0

Freshman defensive specialist Victoria Becerra tallied 13 digs, but Nicholls dropped a straight-set decision to Miami Saturday morning.

Sophomore setter Emily Venable took the reins of the setter position for majority of the match, finishing with 17 assists. Senior outside hitter Stephanie Tobison totaled a team-high nine kills.

The Hurricanes (3-0) were spearheaded by All-ACC First Team outside Olga Strantzali, who managed 20 kills on a .486 hitting percentage.

The Colonels struggled offensively in the opening frame, committing eight attack errors to just seven kills. Miami scored 12 of the first 17 and 19 of the first 28 points, forcing two Nicholls timeouts. The Colonels concluded the set with some momentum, earning four of the final six points.

That energy carried into the second set as Nicholls battled from being down 12-8 to taking a 13-12 advantage behind strong service from Venable that constantly put the Hurricanes out of system. Back-to-back kills by sophomore Jennifer Olivarez and Tobison increased the Colonels lead to 16-13.

The two sides traded three-point runs to eventually see ties at 17, 21 and 22. Tied at 22, freshman middle blocker Kimberly Iwunze and Venable stuffed a Kolby Bird attack attempt. Tobison followed with a kill which gave the Colonels set point at 24-22. Unfortunately, Miami would use a four-point spurt capped by three consecutive Strantzali kills to win the set.

The Hurricanes controlled the third set early, capturing 14 of the first 19 points en route to a 20-kill period. Nine of those 20 points came via Strantzali kills.  

JSU 3, Nicholls 1

Senior Sydney Lerille (14 kills, 10 digs) and Venable (32 assists, 10 digs) notched double-doubles as the Colonels dropped a four-setter against JSU in the final match of the tournament.

Freshman Victoria Becerra secured a match-high 22 digs, and Tobison (11 digs) rounded out the four student-athletes with double-digit digs.
The Lady Tigers were led by Camry Dabney who tallied 21 digs and 17 kills.

A back-and-forth first set consisted of 15 ties and six lead changes. The difference came at 25 apiece when JSU earned two straight points on an Alexandra Burney kill and Lerille attack error.

Lerille fired a kill in the second frame to bring the Colonels within one at 11-10 before the Lady Tigers pushed seven in a row to take a commanding lead.

After going down 2-0, Nicholls took the third set behind three kills apiece from Lerille, Tobison and freshman Imanie Williams. Williams iced the set at 24-20 with a solo block.

JSU answered in the fourth as five Dabney kills helped lift the Lady Tigers to a 23-16 advantage. The Colonels responded with five straight points, getting kills from Olivarez and Tobison alongside three JSU errors. The Lady Tigers would close the match on back-to-back kills by Laura Funk and Dabney.

Nicholls returns to action Friday in the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Volleyball Classic hosted by UL-Lafayette. The Colonels face Jacksonville State and the Ragin' Cajuns Friday before closing with Mississippi Valley State Saturday.

For the latest news on Nicholls volleyball, follow the team on Twitter @Nicholls_VB.