NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Nicholls State University volleyball program earned a pair of victories over Tennessee State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff at the Belmont Invitational. The Colonels are now 5-1 overall as they suffered their first loss of the season against Belmont.
 
MATCH ONE: Nicholls 3, Tennessee State 0 | 29-27, 25-11, 25-16
 
Nicholls began the weekend in Nashville with a dominate victory over TSU. The Colonels offense tallied double figure kills in all three sets and posted a .340 hitting percentage.
 
Both teams started strong as the teams combined for 37 kills while hitting over .300 in a set that saw multiple lead changes.  The Red & Gray sustained their offensive success throughout the contest as the Tigers' cooled off and finished the match with a .111 hitting percentage.
 
The Colonels' balanced attack was paced effortlessly by setter Isabella Padilla who dished 33 assists. Four different Colonels tallied at least six kills as Tamara Chavez led the unit with 12 kills followed by Madison Smith (7), Holden Harper (7), and Tierney Terrell (6). Karina Smith chipped in offensively with five service aces.
 
The Red & Gray defense was anchored by M. Smith and Ava-Claire Calais who had 11 digs apiece while K. Smith added seven. Harper led the squad with three blocks at the net.
 
MATCH TWO: Nicholls 0, Belmont 3 | 12-25, 13-25, 10-25
 
Nicholls' offense struggled in the match against the hosting Belmont. The Colonels tallied 18 kills and hit .063 whole the Bruins had their rhythm early and often as they totaled 46 kills and hit .440 for the contest.
 
For the second consecutive match, Chavez led the offense with 10 kills followed by Ana Clara Valentim do Vale who had three. Padilla dished 12 assists.
 
Defensively, Holden anchored the unit with six blocks followed by M. Smith and Terrell who had two apiece. M. Smith led the team with nine digs followed by Padilla (7) and Calais (6).
 
MATCH THREE: Nicholls 3, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 0 | 25-17, 25-22, 25-11
 
The Colonels offense regained their rhythm and confidence in the final match of the weekend as the unit registered 43 kills while hitting .287.
 
Padilla paced the offense with 33 assists as she constantly set up the trio of Chavez, Holden, and M. Smith. Chavez led the way with 14 kills as she hit .417 from the field while Holden (.556) and M. Smith (.304) added 11 and nine kills respectively. K. Smith and Jenna Cicherski chipped in with two service aces apiece.
 
Chavez anchored the defense with 13 digs to claim her first double-double of the season. K. Smith tallied 12 digs, while M. Smith and Calais finished with nine digs apiece. Holden (2) and Chavez (1) claimed blocks for the Red & Gray.
 
UP NEXT
After improving to 5-1 on the season, the Red & Gray will return home to host Alabama A&M (Sept. 11), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Sept. 12), Grambling and Southern (Sept. 13) as part of the 2025 SLC-SWAC Challenge.