The Nicholls Volleyball team finished their first tournament of the season with a mark of 2-1.

The team played in Hattiesburg, Miss. for the Southern Mississippi Invitational. The Colonels won the first two of their three matches, beating Alabama A & M in four matches (3-1) and Arkansas Pine Bluff in three matches (3-0), before falling to the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles in four matches (1-3).

Coach Tommy Harold said he was impressed with how the young players stepped up and played well in all three matches.

“The team works on serving and receiving in practice because it’s where I feel the team can get the most improvement,” Harold said.

Harold is in his second year as head coach for the women’s volleyball team.

In his first season as head coach, it was an all-new team and coaching staff. Coming into this year, he feels the team has really come together as a unit.

“Even the games the team won, I saw room for improvement. The team is always working to get better in areas such as serving and receiving,” Harold said.

While the season is just starting, the team hopes to become more familiar with each other as the season progresses and they are always looking to improve their level of play.

“As opposed to last year, I feel the team started quicker and they had a lot more offense than they did a year ago,” Harold said.

With a year of experience under his belt, Harold said he hopes the team can finish stronger this season and be at the top of the conference.

Kalynn Egea, the only senior on the team, plays the libero position, which is a defensive specialist who plays the back row of the court while the rest of the team rotates positions. She wears a different jersey than the rest of the team.

“I feel that I am a defensive leader, and my position is the best defender on the court,” Egea said.

Egea said she is excited for the upcoming weekend at Lafayette because they get a chance to play Southern Mississippi again, a team who beat them in four matches last weekend. Egea also feels that this tournament will offer better competition.

Sophomore Mikayla Miller plays middle blocker, which is an offensive and defensive position. She only plays in the front row, while the rest of the team rotates positions. On the offensive side of the court, Miller hits the ball. On the defensive side of the court, she has to block the other team from scoring.

“The team has a phrase during the week and throughout the season: ‘every play, every day’, which means the team pushes themselves to work harder on the things that need improvement,” Miller said.

The team hopes to improve their record this weekend with more wins as they travel to Lafayette to play Southern, UL-Lafayette and a rematch with Southern Mississippi.