BEAUMONT, Texas – The Nicholls State University volleyball team was beaten by Lamar and Stephen F. Austin in the final road trip of the season.
GAME ONE: Nicholls (2) @ Lamar (3) (25-22, 25-13, 21-25, 23-25, 9-15)
The Colonels started fast and snatched the first two sets from the Cardinals. The first set was closely contested, and the Colonels came away with the set 25-22.
In the second stanza, the Colonels offense was still clicking as they pieced together a pair of four-point runs followed by a pair of five-point surges to dominate the set 25-13.
The Cardinals responded by taking the third and fourth sets despite the Colonels registering three more kills across the frames. The Cardinals took their momentum into the final set as they hit .500 from the floor to take the set 15-9.
The Colonels balanced offense that featured three double figure scorers was paced effortlessly by setter
Evelyn Trivino Espinosa who dished out 50 assists.
Leah Linares Castro led the attack with 18 kills followed by
Jordan Gamble (13) and
Tierney Terrell (10).
Olivia Lunt and
Makila Billingsley added eight kills apiece.
The Colonels tallied double figure service aces for the first time in SLC action this season.
Quincy Cummard led the way with three while
Ava-Claire Calais, Espinosa, and Gamble had two apiece. Both Terrell and Nonato had one.
Defensively, libero
Kenley Nonato anchored the unit with 20 digs, while Terrell had 18 to claim her sixth double-double of the season.
Ava-Claire Calais and Cummard added 15 and 13 digs, respectively. In the middle,
Khara Morton led the way with three block assists while Castro had two.
GAME TWO: Nicholls (1) @ SFA (3) (16-25, 22-25, 25-22, 20-25)
The Colonels got out to a slower start as the offense tallied 17 kills across the first two sets in Nacogdoches. The Red & Gray responded by registering 13 kills while only allowing 11 to win set 3 25-22. The momentum only lasted one frame as SFA outlasted the Colonels 25-20 to clinch the match.
Castro led the offense with 10 kills followed by Terrell (9) and Gamble (7).
Rae Leano and Nonato had three service aces apiece while Espinosa dished 31 assists.
Nonato led the unit defensively with 15 digs while Gamble had a match high five blocks at the net. Terrell had seven digs and two blocks.
UP NEXT
The Red & Gray will play their final two home games of the season against SFA (Nov. 14) and Lamar (Nov. 16).
