DENTON, Texas – The Nicholls State University volleyball team dropped two straight-set decisions Friday to North Texas and Kent State inside the North Texas Volleyball Center at the North Texas Invitational.

Freshman Katie Jones led the team in kills in both matches, posting seven kills in the first match followed by 11 in the second.

North Texas 3, Nicholls 0

The Colonels (0-2) fell 25-12, 25-15, 25-8 to host North Texas in the opener.

Senior Brieanna Hill posted five kills and junior Heidi Carpenter contributed four. Carpenter and junior Emily Venable tied two Mean Green players with a match-high four digs. Senior Jade Piper added 15 assists and three digs.

North Texas' offensive leaders were Barbara Teakell (13 kills), Valerie Valerian (12 kills) and Rhett Robinson (eight kills). Setter Karley York dished out 41 assists.

Nicholls kept pace with North Texas in the early stages of the first set, trailing 7-6 after an assisted block by senior Jade Piper and freshman Aaliyah Burras and later 11-9 following a Jones kill. The Mean Green used five Valerian kills to tally 14 of the next 16 points and take the first frame.

The Colonels dropped 11 of the first 16 in the second as Teakell recorded four of her five kills in that stretch. Three of Nicholls' first five points were via Jones kills. Back-to-back errors by North Texas put the Colonels within seven at 20-13, but the Mean Green responded with three straight points capped by solo blocks from Valerian and Jordyn Williams to help close out the set.

Sophomore middle blocker Kimberly Iwunze smashed a kill in her only attempt in the third, but Nicholls surrendered 10 of the first 12 points as North Texas swung a blistering .571 (13-1-21) in the deciding frame. Teakell and Rhett Robinson were both a perfect 4-for-4 during the set.  

Kent State 3, Nicholls 0

The Colonels dropped their second match 25-16, 25-19, 25-18 to Kent State.

Iwunze set a new career high with eight kills. Junior libero Emily Venable amassed a match-high 10 digs and Piper dished out 17 assists.

The Flashes were spearheaded by Kathryn Ellison's nine kills.

Jones piled on four kills during the Colonels first five points in the opening set. After Nicholls grabbed a 5-2 advantage, Kent State managed six straight points before eventually stealing the frame.

The Colonels trailed by just one in the second set at 7-6 when the Golden Flashes pulled off five consecutive scores to take control. Iwunze and Jones produced three kills apiece.

Nicholls grabbed a 4-3 lead in the deciding set after a Hill kill, but Kent State rattled off another 5-0 run and two four-point barrages later in the frame to seal the match. The Colonels had seven student-athletes record a kill in the final set.

Nicholls concludes the event Saturday against Grambling and Northeastern at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

To stay up to date with Nicholls volleyball, follow the team on Instagram and Twitter @Nicholls_VB.