The Nicholls volleyball team went 1-1 this weekend in their matches held in the Stopher Gym. Friday night, the Lady Colonels took on the top team in the Southland Conference West, Texas State. The match was decided in five sets with Texas State being victorious.

“We’re definitely pushing teams that people don’t expect us to push,” head coach Chris Laird said. “We’re still working on building our confidence. It’s great to be in a match like this, but it’s the sixth five-set match we’ve played and honestly, we’re tired of being the bridesmaid.”

After falling behind early, the Lady Colonels rallied in the third and fourth sets to force the game into a fifth.

“I can’t say enough about our team,” Laird said. “I’m so proud of the girls for coming back after being down two. In those first two sets, we just went through the motions, and it showed.”

The Lady Colonels played again Saturday against Texas Arlington. For the seventh time this season, the Lady Colonels forced a fifth set, this time coming out on top.

“Today was a tough match,” Laird said. “It was a big win for us, because again we went five sets. Hats off to (UT) Arlington. They really out-hustled us for a good bit of the match. We made the right plays at the right time. Otherwise I think we would have been a little disappointed. We pushed each other today.”

After Friday night’s slim loss to Texas State, Laird was glad the team could come out with a five set victory.

“It was a great match,” Laird said. “Luckily for us we came out with a win. That’s a big plus because we’re three for seven in these five-set matches. I’m really proud of the girls. They kept their composure. We used a lot of girls off of the bench today, so this was a full team effort.”

In an effort to extend their current 7-13 record, the Lady Colonels take to the road this weekend with matches against Northwestern State Oct. 30 and Central Arkansas Nov. 1.