THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University volleyball team fell in four sets, 25-20, 16-25, 25-19, 25-21, to Northwestern State University Saturday afternoon at Stopher Gym.
Senior right-side hitter
Brieanna Hill tied Northwestern State's Reagan Rogers with a match-high 14 kills. Lady Demons sophomore Hannah Brister, a Napoleonville native, was the only other student-athlete with double-digit kills at 12. Nicholls sophomore
Kimberly Iwunze and freshman
Aaliyah Burras added eight kills each, and junior
Heidi Carpenter converted a double-double with 18 assists and 10 digs.
The first set consisted of 16 ties and nine lead changes. With the Colonels (3-15, 1-4 SLC) ahead 17-15, Northwestern State (6-8, 2-2 SLC) rallied for seven consecutive points behind the service of starting setter Cayman Sutton to eventually down Nicholls 25-20.
The Colonels responded in a big way, never surrendering the lead in the second frame. Hill smashed four consecutive kills midway through the set to increase the margin to five at 11-6. Hill pounded six kills in the period as Nicholls swung .333 to even the match with a 25-16 set victory.
Three early ball handling errors and a service error by the Colonels proved to be costly early in the third set as the Lady Demons jumped out to a 7-4 lead. Leading 21-19, Northwestern State closed the door with four kills in a row, two via Brister.
Every time Nicholls put together a rally in the deciding set, the Lady Demons found an answer. The Colonels tallied four of the first five points and Northwestern State countered with three in a row; Nicholls scored five of six points later in the frame to go ahead 10-8 only to follow with back-to-back errors and see a tie at 10. The Colonels led 13-12 when the Lady Demons stormed ahead on a 9-1 run that would prove insurmountable.
Nicholls now readies itself for a two-match road swing, commencing Thursday at Lamar. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
To stay up to date with Nicholls volleyball, follow the team on Instagram and Twitter
@Nicholls_VB.
