On Saturday afternoon, the Nicholls volleyball team rebounded from a conference loss earlier in the week with a five-set victory against Southland foe, University of Texas at Arlington, where both seniors, setter Jordan Karst and outside hitter Rachel Yezak, were recognized.

This win gave the Colonels their 18th win on the year, but more importantly, kept them in contention to make the Southland Conference tournament, which only accepts eight teams.

With 18 kills and 20 digs, Yezak led the Colonels alongside Karst, who totaled 33 assists. With their respective performances, Yezak has now totaled over 1,100 career digs, and Karst has accumulated 1,700 assists, which has her on the verge of the record books. She is now right outside the top five setters in school history.

Winning their last game on their home floor gave both seniors the same feeling: “surreal,” as the duo said in unison.

After dropping very competitive first and third sets, the Colonels responded with a win in the second and fourth sets. Ultimately, Nicholls proved too strong after two kills and an ace to end the match final score of 15-11 in the fifth set.

“It is definitely crunch time, so we have to get our wins now to make the conference tournament,” head coach TeAna Tramel said. “I am very proud of our players today, especially the seniors. You never know how your team will come out on senior night because all the activities take you out of your routine, but everyone adapted and this was a big team win.”

Unfortunately, the Colonels were not as successful last Thursday versus Texas State, who is currently second in the Southland Conference. Nicholls was able to win the third set, forcing a fourth, but could not overcome the Bobcats.

“You can never say enough about Texas State as a program and all that they do, but I am very proud of our girls because we have not taken a set from them in a number of years,” Tramel said. “To take a set and force a fourth set against them speaks volumes about how far we have come this year and shows how much potential we have moving into next year.”

This week, the Colonels will finish the regular season portion of their schedule, in hopes that they qualify for postseason play. With matches against Central Arkansas and Northwestern State, the Colonels preferably need two wins, which will stamp their ticket to Conway, Ark., this year’s site of the Southland Conference tournament.

However, even with a loss, Nicholls can still qualify due to a gnarled web of possibilities, considering how things can play out between teams whom they are tied with for the eighth and final tournament spot.

“Conference play has been a little rough thus far but we are turning things around, and I’m excited for next weekend which will be on the road,” Yezak said.

“Our season is definitely not over,” Karst said. “We still have a couple of more wins that we need to work toward. But I think it is doable, especially after our win against UT-Arlington.”