THIBODAUX, La. -- Powered by a trio of strong offensive performances along with some emotional fire following pre-game Senior Day celebrations, the Nicholls State University volleyball program (1-8, 1-7 SLC) secured the team's first victory of the 2021 spring campaign against Southland adversary Lamar (1-12, 1-7 SLC), successfully converting a late comeback en route to a 3-2 full-sets win early Saturday afternoon at Stopher Gym.

KEY STORYLINES & STATISTICS (W 3-2)
-- The Red & Gray initially surged out a to first-set victory, outpacing LU by a 25-23 margin, before falling behind on consecutive losses in the second (25-19) and third (30-28) frames. Despite the deficit, however, the Colonels proceeded to turn on the jets as they chalked up dominant wins in both the fourth (25-15) and a decisive fifth (15-8), sealing the match victory behind seven points across the final eight rallies.
-- Individually, Nicholls garnered a majority of its offensive firepower behind a trio of strong outings from juniors Katie Jones and Emily Gauthreaux along with freshman Yani Johnson, combining for 37 of the team's 57 kills (nearly 65 percent) throughout the contest. Notably, both Jones and Johnson posted hitting percentages above .310, logging just five total errors, while Gauthreaux notched her fourth double-double of the season behind an 11-kill, 12-dig showing.
-- Meanwhile senior Meghan Wozniak served, per the usual, as the squad's primary setter, recording a team-best 28 assists while sophomore Lilly Bivens stepped into the rotation to grab 19 of her own.
-- Defensively, senior Kate Hoerdemann took up a leading role for the Red & Gray, collecting a team-best 23 digs, while sophomore libero Bailey Lyons -- in just her second start all-time -- racked up 19 as well; additionally, senior Lydia Frederick paced the Colonels with career-high eight blocks while both Jones and fellow junior Aaliyah Burras impressed with five total blocks apiece as well, leading Nicholls to the program's top overall blocking performance (22) since logging 29 against Air Force on Sept. 2, 2016.
 
UP NEXT
With the first pair of the four-game home slate wrapped up, the Colonels aim to carry the positive momentum from Saturday's victory into the final pair of contests next weekend, hosting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday, Mar. 18 before closing out the stretch with Sam Houston on Saturday, Mar. 20, all at Stopher Gym.

STAY SOCIAL
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