After a loss in Central Arkansas Thursday, the Colonels volleyball team rallied to take two straight wins against Northwestern State Saturday and Jackson State Tuesday.Although the Colonels totaled six blocks and 61 digs and two players recorded double-digit kills, the Bears were still unstoppable as it set a new school record by earning its 14th consecutive victory against the Colonels.
Freshman Jennifer Brandt lead the team with 16 kills and posted a .333 hitting percentage, with senior Manieka Golden following close behind with 13 kills on 33 attempts.
As the Bears took the lead in the first set, the Colonels fought hard and brought the score within three points but lost the set, despite out hitting the Bears .321 to .300.
Brandt and Golden helped the Colonels tie the match up at 1-1 by taking the second set (25-21) with steady play. Between the two of them, they produced 10 kills, as well as .500 averages with no errors.
While the Colonels posed a threat by taking the second set, the Bears proved too strong as they muscled out the final two sets, allowing only 15 points in each.
“Regardless of the loss and the score, I’m still pleased and proud of the way we played in the first and second sets,” head coach Chris Laird said. “Central Arkansas is a great team, and we knew they weren’t going to go away in the third and fourth sets.”
With another loss of 0-2 in conference play, the Colonels volleyball team traveled to Natchitoches to take on the Northwestern State Demons Saturday.
After the Demons took possession of the first set, the Colonels rallied with three Colonel players posting double-digit kills to win the next three sets, 25-22, 25-19 and 25-23, consecutively.
Rachel Yezak lead the Colonels by posting a double-double with 10 kills and a team-high 14 digs. Golden and Brandt made their presence yet again, posting 14 and 12 kills to follow behind Yezak.
Meanwhile, the win against the Demons gave Nicholls its first win in conference play, 1-2.
“It feels great to get our first conference win, especially on the road,” Laird said. “Northwestern State always plays us tough at home, and they played well in the first set. But we responded, and we played pretty well. It’s nice to get a win on the road, and hopefully this will help us get ready for a pretty athletic Jackson State team on Tuesday.”
With the win, the Colonels ended its first conference road stretch as the team headed home to face off against the Jackson State Tigers Tuesday.
The game started slow for the Colonels as it lost the first two sets, 23-25 and 20-25 consecutively, while creating 14 errors. But as the Colonels exited the break, five lead changes and 15 tie scores helped carry the Colonels to bring the game to within one set at 2-1.
After the third set, a huge shift caused a tilt towards the Colonels side. Winning the next three sets, the Colonels rallied back to win the game in five sets.
Yet again, three Colonels players produced double-digit kills. Golden had another good game, producing a double-double with 19 kills and 11 digs, while freshman Jasmine Harris and Brandt had 12 and 10 kills. Sophomore Danielle Daigle also had 18 digs in the contest.
After the game, Golden explained how she was able to make big plays that helped the Colonels to rally from behind and take the victory.
“I know I am a senior and I wanted to play like a senior. I just needed to step it up a bit to help out the team,” Golden said.
Meanwhile, when coach Laird was asked what he said to help his team to focus after the second set, he said, “It has always come down to will; it has nothing to do with what I say or what I do. It’s been simply, if you guys want to make it happen, we’ll make it happen.”
The Colonels head into two more conference games at home against Stephen F. Austin Friday at 7 p.m followed by a game against Mcneese State at 3 p.m. on Saturday to end its longest home stretch of the year.
