NEW ORLEANS, La. -- The Nicholls State University women's volleyball program (6-6, 0-1 Southland) faltered in Thursday evening's Southland Conference opener, surrendering a 3-1 match to in-state rival UNO (9-7, 2-0 Southland) at the Human Performance Center in New Orleans, La.

KEY STORYLINES & STATISTICS (L 1-3)
-- The Colonels fought back from an early one-set deficit in a statement second, tying the match behind a 25-16 score; the third & fourth sets proved more difficult, however, as the Red & Gray were outpaced by just three & five points, respectively, and the Privateers clinched the victory.
-- Offensively, the Colonels leaned on sophomore Katie Jones and her team-best 10 kills, not to mention an attacking trio of Aaliyah Burras, Emily Gauthreaux & Jackie Alanis, who each picked up eight kills apiece.
-- Junior Meghan Wozniak returned to her role as the team's primary setter, posting a squad-high 21 assists on the night along with 11 digs and a trio of kills.
-- Defensively, senior L Emily Venable handled a majority of the statistical production, notching 27 digs in the loss.

UP NEXT
After kicking off conference play at New Orleans, the Colonels must shift gears quickly as the team returns to Thibodaux on Saturday afternoon for the league home opener, hosting in-state rival McNeese at 1 p.m. in Stopher Gym.

STAY SOCIAL
For more information on Colonels Volleyball, follow the team on Twitter (@Nicholls_VB), Instagram (@nicholls_vb) and like their Facebook page (Nicholls Volleyball).