After going winless on the road during conference play, the Nicholls State University Volleyball team returns home for their next four conference games.

The Colonels have lost four conference games, which have all been on the road this season. Outside hitter Kaci Eaton said that playing at home will give the team a lift.

“There is definitely a change in the atmosphere knowing that we are playing at home, have the crowd behind us and we don’t have to worry about traveling,” Eaton said. “You don’t want to blame a tough stretch on the road, but there is definitely a change in the energy.”

After making it to the conference tournament last year, the Colonels have struggled to start the 2015 Southland Conference schedule. Eaton said that the team needs to become mentally tougher to get back to the conference tournament.

“Our mentality has held us back a bit so far,” Eaton said. “We have all the skills and aspirations in the world, but during the games we need to fight through a little adversity or we won’t win.”

The Colonels have a total of 324 errors this season. Right side hitter Kali Schwartz said the team is still trying to find its way on defense.

“Our chemistry on offense has been really strong, but defensively we have had a little bit of trouble recognizing where everyone should be,” Schwartz said. “We have a couple of new players this season, and we are still getting used to things.”

The Colonels have made 641 kills this season, which ranks near the bottom of the conference. Schwarts said the Colonels want to put more pressure on the opponent with its frontline.

“We need our hitters to just get up and start swinging,” Schwartz said. “We will force them to make mistakes if we play to our strengths.”

The Colonels only have 75 total blocks this season, which also ranks near the bottom of the conference. Eaton said this wouldn’t stop them from getting better on defense.

“We would like to see more blocks, but as long as our defense is behind us it isn’t going to affect us too much,” Eaton said. “It is the first line of defense though, so we are still looking to fine-tune it a little bit.”

The Colonels have struggled to stay consistent in sets. Middle hitter Emily Welmer said they need to find a way to keep the tempo going throughout the game.

“We have had trouble settling into some games which is a little understandable since we have played every game on the road,” Welmer said. “We just need start games better to put ourselves in better situations.”

The Colonels lost their first conference home game against the University of New Orleans in four sets on Tuesday. The Colonels play the University of Central Arkansas on Saturday and Mcneese State University on Oct. 17 at Stopher Gym. Welmer said the team still has several things it needs to work on for its upcoming home games.

“Positioning and communication have probably been the biggest problems this season,” Welmer said. “Our team is pretty similar to last year, but we still have times where we aren’t sure who is going after what ball. It’s something we need to improve on.”