THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University volleyball team looks to get back on track as they welcome the Lady Demons of Northwestern State and the Lions of Texas A&M University-Commerce to Thibodaux for matches at Stopher Gym on Thursday, Oct. 6, and Saturday, Oct. 8.

NICHOLLS COURT (4-13, 1-4 SLC):
The Red & Gray attack features four individuals that have recorded at least 100 kills. Senior outside hitters Devon Bright and Katie Jones lead the way with 145 and 138, while sophomore outside hitter Trinity Vinzant added eight kills from the previous match at Southeastern to bring her total to 124. Additionally, senior middle blocker S'mara Riley has recorded 105.  Vinzant and Bright also have 22 and 16 service aces to add to the scoring. The Colonels' offense is paced nicely by a trio of setters. Senior Lilly Bivens has posted 320 assists, sophomore Kendall Battistella has tallied 150, and freshman Taylor Heeb has 120.

The Colonel defense is anchored by Riley who ranks second in the SLC for total blocks with 74 and first in blocks per set with 1.23. Jones adds 49 blocks, while freshman middle blocker Paris Dixon has registered 42 thus far. Sophomore libero Kadie Becnel leads the team in digs with 231 and is tenth in the SLC averaging 3.67 per set. Additionally, Vinzant has 172, while Bivens and Bright have 110 apiece.
 
NORTHWESTERN STATE COURT (10-7, 3-3 SLC):
The Lady Demons' offense is spearheaded by a quartet of attackers. Sophomore outside hitter Breanna Burrell leads the way with 202 kills, followed by senior outside hitter Symone Wesley who has 169 kills while freshmen middle blockers Jordan Gamble and Reaghan Thompson have 117 kills apiece. Thompson and Gamble rank first and seventh in the conference for hitting percentage posting .364 and .274, respectively. The offense is run by sophomore setters Amina Attra (314 assists), and Piper Boydstun (283 assists). Gamble and Boydstun lead the unit in service aces with 25 and 23.

Defensively, the Lady Demons are anchored by Wesley and sophomore libero Ashlyn Svoboda who have tallied 270 and 253 digs to rank third and seventh in digs per set averaging 4.29 and 3.91, respectively. Thompson and Gamble display their two-way ability by leading the unit in blocks accumulating 67 and 66.
 
TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE COURT (5-13, 2-3 SLC):
The Lions showcase a defense that features four players with at least 130 digs. Senior defensive specialist Lyric Hebert registered nine in their previous match against Texas A&M-CC to bring her season total to 273 and give her the fourth-best average in the SLC at 4.07. Senior setter Celeste Vela, sophomore outside hitter Reese Fetty, and junior defensive specialist Ashley Pennington have registered 144, 140, and 132, respectively. Senior middle blocker Taryn Cast leads the team in blocks with 70 and holds the conference's fourth-best block per set average at 1.04.

Vela organizes the Lions' attack with 579 assists to help her post the fourth best assist per set average with 8.64. Vela sets up a trio of attackers with Fetty leading the way with 184 kills, junior outside hitter Maddy Rashford has 174, and Cast has claimed 112. Hebert and Fetty lead the squad in service aces with 23 and 18.

UP NEXT
The Red & Gray hit the road again, first traveling to Natchitoches to take on Northwestern State on Thursday, Oct. 13 before crossing state lines to Corpus Christi, Texas to face the Islanders of Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Saturday, Oct. 15.

STAY SOCIAL
For more information on Colonels Indoor & Beach Volleyball, follow both teams on Twitter (@Nicholls_VB), Instagram (@nicholls_vb), and like their Facebook page (Nicholls Volleyball).