This past weekend in Lafayette, the Colonels volleyball team won both of their games in the Bon Temps Invitational Tournament. 

In three dominating sets, the Colonels posted their second shutout of the season against Mississippi Valley State. The Colonels defeated the Delta Devils while posting a season-high .311 hitting percentage and eight blocks. 

With their third ace of the day, served by Jennifer Brandt, junior outside hitter, the Colonels won their second contest of the season. Handling part of the offensive duties was Brandt who tallied nine kills.

Also helping the offense were Jasmine Harris, junior middle blocker, who tallied eight kills, and Jessica Addicks, junior middle blocker, who finished with seven kills of her own.

Junior setter Nicole Lund and senior setter Jordan Karst combined for a total of 21 assists as they split time at their position. Though her team came out victorious, head coach TeAna Tramel was not pleased with the amount of errors her team committed. 

“I was not pleased with the amount of points we gave away on our side of the net,” Tramel said. “Most of their points had accumulated from our mistakes which hurt us a bit.”

However, quickly after the mistake-filled victory versus MVSU, the Colonels streamlined their amount of errors against Texas Southern and completed yet another shutout in three straight sets. Nicholls set an early season record with a dominating .468 hitting percentage. 

Rachel Yezak, senior right side hitter, led the Colonels in their second matchup with 10 kills and a percentage of .769. Brandt and Harris both managed to hit over .500, while each posting eight kills respectively. 

Coach Tramel was much more pleased with her team’s second outing.

“After our first match, we talked a lot about reducing the amount of errors,” Tramel said.  “Saturday morning, our girls came out with tons of energy, and they were ready to play. We played much better against Texas Southern, capitalizing on a couple opportunities. We were able to control the ball on our side of the net, which allowed the other team to make the mistake.”

Unfortunately, due to tropical storm Lee, the championship match against UL-Lafayette was cancelled. Tramel was disappointed that the tournament could not be finished.

“It is always exciting to play another in-state team, especially a fellow Sun Belt opponent,” Tramel said.  “We were disappointed the match was cancelled, but the safety of all the teams participating comes first. Hopefully we can reschedule the match so that we can crown a winner.”

 Now, after two wins in as many games, maintaining an unblemished record during Bon Temps, the Colonels have reached a record of three wins and three losses.

Two players were named to the all-tournament team. Addicks and Harris, both with hitting percentages of well over .600, received this honor. 

According to Tramel, playing in the Bon Temps Invitational helped her team as a whole.

“Any competition is good preparation, but this weekend we were able to play with some different lineups,” said Tramel.  “After a challenging start to the season due to the scheduling of a difficult tournament, we were really able to gain some confidence movingforward.”