THIBODAUX, La – The Nicholls State University volleyball team will close out Southland Conference regular season play with home matches against UNO on Thursday, November 10, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday, November 12. The Colonels will celebrate the seniors on Saturday and are fighting for a second straight postseason birth.

NICHOLLS COURT (7-21, 4-12 SLC):
The Colonels are currently on their longest SLC win streak since 2019 after picking up road wins at Lamar and Texas A&M-Commerce on Tuesday and Thursday, before defeating the LU again on Saturday at home.

The Red & Gray offense is a balanced attack that features a trio of outside hitters that have recorded at least 225 kills this season. Seniors Katie Jones and Devon Bright have tallied 262 and 246 kills, while sophomore Trinity Vinzant has 229. Vinzant and Bright add 38 and 37 service aces to the Nicholls scoring.

The attack is paced nicely by setters senior Lilly Bivens, freshman Taylor Heeb, and sophomore Kendall Battistella who have registered 554, 268, and 207 assists up to this point.

The Colonel defense is anchored by reigning SLC Defensive Player of the Week sophomore libero Kadie Becnel who has 394 digs this season. Vinzant, Bright, and Bivens stay active defensively posting 320, 229, and 189 digs respectively.

The unit also receives help from a pair of middle blockers that deny the opposition. Senior S'mara Riley and freshman Paris Dixon have claimed 107 and 75 blocks this season, while Jones had 67.

UNO COURT (14-14, 8-8 SLC):
Last week, the Privateers defeated Texas A&M-Commerce and lost two matches against Northwestern State. The UNO attack is spearheaded by freshman outside hitter Sophia Ewalefo who has tallied 229 kills. Junior outside hitter Trinity Jackson, senior middle blocker Mauri Carver, and senior outside hitter Kristi Gomez have added 180, 162, and 157 kills up to this point. The attack is paced by freshman setter Kamryn Scroggins who has claimed 706 helpers this season.

Defensively, the team is led by junior libero Sheilah Purcell, who recorded 418 digs. Junior outside hitter Rita Zecchin (285 digs), Scroggins (259 digs), and Ewalefo (209 digs) remain active for the UNO defense. Carver leads the squad in blocks with 93, followed by junior middle blocker Sydney Gott who has 55.

TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI COURT (11-19, 11-5 SLC):
Last week, the Islanders defeated UIW and McNeese and lost a match at HCU. Their offense is led by sophomore outside hitter Kyndal Payne and reigning SLC Offensive Player of the Week sophomore middle blocker Leah Stolfus, who have accumulated 419 and 321 kills this season. The offense is constantly set up by senior setter Faith Panhans who has dished out 927 assists.

Senior libero Carissa Barnes adds 42 service aces to the Islander's scoring and anchors the defense with 557 digs up to this point. Payne and freshman libero Zoria Heard add 294 and 227 digs to the fold. Freshman middle blocker Tayah Little and Stolfus accounted for 66 and 54 blocks for the unit.

STAY SOCIAL
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