THIBODAUX, La. -- The Nicholls State University volleyball team will look to get back on track with a pair of road matches. First, the Colonels will look for revenge as they travel to Natchitoches to take on the Lady Demons of Northwestern State (Oct. 13), who got the best of them last week. After that, Nicholls will cross state lines to take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday, Oct. 15.

NICHOLLS COURT (4-15, 1-6 SLC):
The Red & Gray attack is led by a quartet of players that have crossed the century mark in kills. Senior outside hitters Devon Bright and Katie Jones have recorded 166 apiece, while sophomore outside hitter Trinity Vinzant and senior middle blocker S'mara Riley has claimed 150 and 116 kills, respectively. Vinzant and Bright have executed 24 and 23 service aces to also contribute to the teams' scoring. The Colonel offense features a triplet of setters that have dished out more than 100 helpers this season. Senior Lilly Bivens and sophomore Kendall Battistella each had 24 assists in the previous match to bring their season totals up to 369 and 197. Freshman Taylor Heeb has 120 assists thus far.

The Nicholls' defense is anchored by Riley who has recorded 77 total blocks this season, while Jones and freshman middle blocker Paris Dixon have 53 and 51, respectively. In conference play, Riley, and Dixon rank first and second in blocks per set with 1.20 and 1.11. Sophomore libero Kadie Becnel leads the team in digs with 272. Also crossing the century mark in digs are Vinzant, Bright, and Bivens who have registered 209, 146, and 130 this year.

NORTHWESTERN STATE COURT (11-7, 4-3 SLC):
The Lady Demons will come into the matchup fresh after not playing since their 3-1 victory over the Colonels last Thursday. The Northwestern State offense is fourth in the conference in hitting percentage and features five players with at least 100 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Breanna Burrell leads the way with 207, while senior outside hitter Symone Wesley adds 178.  Freshman middle blocker Reaghan Thompson is first in the SLC in hitting percentage posting a .382 to claim 131 kills. Freshman middle blocker Jordan Gamble and senior right-side hitter Addison McDermott have 126 and 105 thus far. The attack is paced nicely by sophomore setters Amina Attra and Piper Boydstun who have combined for 635 assists. Additionally, Gamble, Boydstun, and Wesley add 27, 23, and 18 service aces to the scoring.

Northwestern State possesses the Southland's most stout defense, allowing opponents to hit at a .167 clip. The unit is led by Thompson and Gamble who have 71 and 69 out of 173 total blocks which helps them rank second in the conference for blocks per set at 2.37. The league-leading defense also features two individuals with more than 280 digs with Wesley racking up 288 and sophomore libero Ashlyn Svoboda accumulating 281 and averaging the third most in the conference with 4.46 per set.

TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI COURT (5-16, 5-2 SLC):
The Islanders have won five of their seven conference games to be tied for second in the Southland with Southeastern and UNO. A&M-Corpus Christi currently ranks third in the SLC in hitting percentage (.194), assists per set (12.05), and kills per set (13.04). The attack features three players with at least 200 kills this season. Sophomore outside hitter Kyndal Payne is fourth in the conference in kills per set averaging 3.43 and having 261 total kills, while her classmate middle blocker Leah Stolfus ranks second in the conference in hitting percentage (.318) and has claimed 204 total kills. The offense is paced mostly by senior setter Faith Panhans who has tallied 575 assists thus far. Senior libero Carissa Barnes has earned a league-high 30 service aces to contribute to the Islanders' scoring.

Defensively the Islanders are anchored by Barnes who is the conference leader in digs per set averaging 4.97 and recording 378 total. Payne also stays active defensively registering 210 digs this season. Freshman libero Zoria Heard also has chipped in with 157 digs. Freshman middle blocker Tayah Little and Stolfus lead the team with 45 and 41 blocks, respectively. 

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