HOUSTON, Texas -- The Nicholls State University volleyball team (4-10) pushed HCU (10-5) to the brink but came up just short in a 3-2 loss in Houston on Saturday afternoon. The first three sets each ended 25-21, with Nicholls holding a 2-1 advantage heading into the fourth set. In the fourth set, the Huskies went on a scoring run to pull away 25-16. The final set was a back-and-forth affair until HCU eventually won 15-13.

The Red & Gray attack was spearheaded by senior outside hitters Devon Bright and Katie Jones who finished the five-set thriller with 14 and 11 kills, respectively. Bright did her damage with an impressive .393 hitting percentage. Freshman outside hitter Mackenzie Pryor and senior middle blocker S'mara Riley contributed seven kills apiece to the Colonel's offense. The Nicholls attack was set up by freshman Taylor Heeb who posted a career-high 23 assists, and senior Lilly Bivens who dished out 18 helpers.

Defensively, the team was anchored by a pair of sophomores with libero Kadie Becnel recording 22 digs, while classmate outside hitter Trinity Vinzant had an all-around game with 12 digs, five kills, two aces, and two block assists to register eight points. Pryor recorded 12 digs and three block assists. Also having an all-around performance was freshman middle blocker Paris Dixon, who posted a game-high six block assists, along with six kills, and three digs. Riley, Bright, and Jones combined for 11 block assists, to bring the team total to 22.

UP NEXT
The Colonels continue SLC play with a match at New Orleans on Tuesday, Sept. 27, and welcome McNeese for their first home conference match of the season on Thursday, Sept. 29.

STAY SOCIAL
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