HAMMOND, La. -- Despite composing a competitive effort throughout the contest, the Nicholls State University volleyball program (11-15, 5-10 Southland) was unable to overcome a resilient Southeastern Louisiana (14-15, 8-7 Southland) in Tuesday evening's rivalry match, faltering by a 3-1 final margin to the Lady Lions at the University Center in Hammond, La. Even with the loss, the Colonels remain within striking distance of the final seed in the Southland Conference Tournament; however, the Red & Gray now require a win in Thursday evening's season finale against HBU as well as a pair of losses from New Orleans (vs. Sam Houston State, vs. HBU) to clinch the postseason spot.

KEY STORYLINES & STATISTICS (L 1-3)
-- The Colonels bolted out of the gate in the first set, rallying past host SLU by a 27-25 mark to grab a quick edge. Accordingly, the Lady Lions responded across the next two sets, scraping together a pair of back-to-back close wins (25-23 & 26-24) as they claimed a lead they would never surrender. The fourth set saw Southeastern Louisiana assert the home court advantage, outpacing the Red & Gray by a 25-14 final score to clinch the match victory.
-- Offensively, the Colonels leaned on production from a trio of sophomores -- OH Emily Gauthreaux, MB Aaliyah Burras & RS Katie Jones -- as each breached the double-digit kill mark, combining for a solid 36 on the night. Gauthreaux put together one of her more efficient matches of the year, recording a .333 hitting percentage (15 kills on 36 attempts with three errors).
-- Junior S Meghan Wozniak paced the team with another strong showing as primary setter, posting a double-double behind 35 assist-11 dig showing.
-- On the defensive side, the Red & Gray relied on a quartet of key players, as senior L Emily Venable led the way behind her 17 digs while fellow senior OH Jennifer Olivarez registered 16, freshman S Jaida Felix notched 14 & Wozniak tallied her 11.
 
UP NEXT
The Colonels close out the 2019 regular season with Senior Day festivities & a must-win contest versus HBU, first serve against the Huskies set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14 at Stopher Gym.

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