Volleyball earns first victory of season

Despite suffering losses to Jacksonville State and UL-Lafayette, the Colonels defeated Mississippi Valley State University 3-1 Saturday to earn their first win of the 2017 season.

Nicholls State University competed at the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Volleyball Classic at Earl K. Long Gym at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette this past weekend.

They first faced Jacksonville State University on Friday and lost in four sets. The Gamecocks won the first set 25-13, but the Colonels fought back to win the second set 25-20.

Unfortunately, the comeback was short-lived, as the Gamecocks won the next two sets to win the match over the Colonels with scores of 25-22 and 27-25.

Nicholls then squared off with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. However, the Colonels lost again in four sets to their opponent.

The Ragin’ Cajuns, like the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, won the first set 25-22, and the Colonels came back to win the next set 27-25.

Ragin’ Cajuns finished off the match with set scores of 25-20 and 25-21 over the Colonels. On Saturday, the Colonels completed the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Volleyball Classic with their first victory of the season. Against Mississippi Valley University, the Colonels took their turn defeating an opponent in four sets.

Nicholls won the first two sets with scores of 25-19 and 25-10, but Mississippi Valley narrowly edged Nicholls in the third set with a score of 25-22. Nicholls dominated the fourth set with a score of 25-8 to claim victory for the first time this season.

The Colonels (1-5) play again Friday in the Allstate Sugar Bowl Collegiate Volleyball Classic at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse at Tulane University. They will face Oklahoma University on Friday at 4 p.m., Tulane University at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday and a rematch with The University of Southern Mississippi at 4:30 p.m.

Weekend Statistics (vs. Jacksonville State, @ UL-Lafayette, vs. Mississippi Valley State):
#1 Olivarez, Jennifer: 31 digs
#2 Hill, Brieanna: 35 kills, three aces, eight blocks, one assist, 31 digs
#4 Weimer, Emily: 10 kills, three blocks
#5 Tobison, Stephanie: 36 kills, two aces, four blocks, 44 digs
#6 Piper, Jade: 102 assists, nine digs
#8 Coffey, Kaitlyn: six kills, two blocks
#9 Williams, Imanie: 20 kills, one assist
#14 Venable, Emily: 11 assists, 70 digs
#17 Wozniak, Meghan: 22 assists
#19 Lerille, Sydney: 13 kills, three aces, four blocks, one assist