The Nicholls State University volleyball team is focusing on consistency and being mentally prepared for the season and tournaments to come.

With two tournaments down and two more in the upcoming weekends, outside hitter, Kayla Mashburn says the team is starting to get better at being able to work together and relying on one another, but still has not reached the mental fitness needed.

Mashburn (with 55 kills, 7 aces and 18 digs in the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Volleyball Classic this weekend) said even though the team was not successful in the SCMVC, it has helped them learn what they need to improve on.

“It showed us the little things we need to work on and they are not even the big picture,” said Mashburn.

After loosing close matches against the University of Houston (2-3) and University of Louisiana at Lafayette (2-3), the team won against Jackson State University with a score of 3-0. Coach Tommy Harold said the team is starting to play together better and getting the feel of being next to each other offensively and defensively. They are starting to clean up on the things they need to do to start getting better.

“We have better team chemistry now than we did going into the first tournament and we are starting to trust each other more. Defense is really starting to come together,” middle blocker, Mikayla Miller, said.

Outside hitter, Anna Niederhauser is making her case as a leader with her performance this weekend by leading the team in service aces by eight, 30 kills and digs and six blocks.

With five back-to-back set matches in the opening of the tournament, the Colonels still maintained resilience in their last game of the tournament against Jackson State.

Starting the game against Houston, the Colonels had a narrow hold against the Cougars with 25-22, but then the Cougars were able to gain control of the game leaving the set to 25-18. The Colonels then regained the ground they had lost with a 25-19, but the Cougars took control of the game leading to their win.

The Colonels started the match with a 25-20 over UL, only for it to be flipped by the Ragin’ Cajuns. After two sets, the Colonels were able to get even with a 25-15 set. The game ended with the Ragin’ Cajuns winning the last set in a close match of 15-13.

The Colonels will be playing against North Carolina State, Tulane University and Texas Christian University, in the Tulane Volleyball Tournament this weekend. The team has not yet played against North Carolina State or Texas Christian University. The last encounter with Tulane was in August of 2013 with a loss of 2-3.

The team will have another tournament to see if they were able to become more constant, have their mentality at the same level as their physique and see if they have become comfortable playing as a team.

“The difference between a good team and a great team is that a good team can play at a high level on occasion and a great team does it everyday, every play. That is what we are trying to achieve,” Harold said.