THIBODAUX, La. - The Nicholls State University volleyball team was unable to keep pace against Northwestern State as the Colonels fell in straight sets (18-25, 18-25, 19-25) on Thursday night at Stopher Gymnasium.
Nicholls (9-11, 2-5 SLC) raced out to a 3-0 lead in the opening set but Northwestern State (12-10, 4-3 SLC) controlled the rest of the night, hitting over .350 in two of the three sets. The Demons finished at .311 for the match and had nine aces while the Colonels hit .112, its fifth lowest mark of the season.
Zahahrah Edwards-Wyllie led Nicholls with eight kills and
Madison Smith and
Kera Arrington added seven each. Defensively, freshman
Natalia Navarro had 14 digs and
Maya Schirmer assisted on three of the Colonels' four blocks.
With the help of the three kills to open the match, Nicholls hung close with the visitors in the first set until NSU used an 8-2 run for a 22-16 advantage. But the Demons matched the Colonels' strong start with a strong finish as three kills sealed the win.
In the second set, the Demons led 5-0 and by as much as 17-4. But Nicholls did not go down quietly as an 8-0 surge fueled by two Smith aces brought the deficit to 17-12. Another ace off the serve of
Harper Holden pulled Nicholls to within four before a 3-0 run ended the match at a second-straight 25-18 decision.
For the final set, there were eight ties and four lead changes before NSU pieced together a small 5-2 run for a 19-16 advantage. Then leading 22-19, Elsie Sanchez had two of her match-high 13 kills to close out the sweep for the Demons.
Elizabeth Muguruza added 10 kills for Northwestern State and Jade Longlad totaled 33 assists.
Up Next
Nicholls will welcome East Texas A&M on Saturday, Oct. 17 with an early 11:00 a.m. start.
