THIBODAUX, La. -- The Nicholls State University volleyball was defeated by Northwestern State (4-17, 1-8 SLC) in a five-set thriller on Thursday, Oct. 13 and by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in three sets on Saturday, Oct. 15.

GAME ONE at Northwestern State (L 3-2) (25-12, 25-21, 25-20, 25-21, 15-13)
In the set, the Colonels started off slow allowing the Lady Demons to execute an eight-point scoring run to make the score 12-3. The Colonels tried to claw back but came up short 25-12. The second set was a back-and-forth affair that saw the teams trade four-point runs with Nicholls having the last word and winning the set 25-21.

The third set was all Colonels. Nicholls jumped out to an 11-4 advantage and never looked back and eventually took the set 25-20. The fourth set was like the third but this time the Lady Demons won it 25-21 after the squads traded four-point runs.

In the fifth and final winner takes all set the Colonels jumped out to an 11-4 advantage. This time the Lady Demons scored 11 out of the final 13 points to win the set 15-13.

The Red & Gray attack was led by sophomore outside hitter Trinity Vinzant who finished the match with a career-high 15 kills on a .289 hitting percentage. Senior outside hitter Katie Jones also finished the contest with double-digit kills, registering 14. Freshman outside hitter Mackenzie Pryor and classmate middle blocker Paris Dixon claimed seven kills apiece, while Seniors middle blocker S'mara Riley and outside hitter Devon Bright combined for 13 kills. Dixon was the most efficient attacker posting her kills on a .313 hitting percentage.

The Colonels' offense was paced nicely by setters senior Lilly Bivens and freshman Taylor Heeb who had 26 and 21 assists. Sophomore libero Kadie Becnel and Bright each had three of the Colonels' nine service aces to add to the scoring.

The Colonels' defense was led in digs by Bright who had 21, while Becnel had 17. Bivens and Heeb impacted the defense with 12 digs apiece. Nicholls had eight total block assists. Jones, Riley, and Dixon each had two, while Pryor and Bright each added one. Pryor, Dixon, and Jones also picked up solo blocks.
 
GAME TWO at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (L 3-0) (25-15, 25-18, 25-22)
The Islanders started the first set with an 8-3 run and never looked back to eventually run away with the set 25-15. In the second set, the Colonels were unable to answer a four-point and a three-point run by the Islanders to drop the set 25-18.

In the final set, Nicholls jumped out to a 12-5 lead before A&M-Corpus Christi scored seven of the next nine to make the score 14-12, Nicholls. The Islanders then managed to score 10 of the final 12 points of the set to finish off the Colonels 25-22.

Statistically, Jones led the way with nine kills while Vinzant, Pryor, and junior middle blocker Jhayla Bolden added five kills apiece to the offensive output. Bivens and Heeb paced the offense again with 16 and 11 helpers, respectively. Bolden, Bright, and Heeb also picked up service aces.

Bright dawn the libero duties and accumulated a team-high 10 digs, while Heeb and Vinzant had seven apiece. Pryor, Riley, and Bivens combined for 14 digs. Riley and Bolden each had three block assists, while Dixon had the Colonels' lone solo block.

UP NEXT
The Colonels welcome HCU and UIW to Stopher Gym for matches on Oct. 20 and 22.

STAY SOCIAL
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