Colonels win against Abilene Christian, play two home games this week

The Nicholls State University volleyball team earned its first victory in nearly a month this past
week against Abilene Christian in Stopher Gymnasium.

Nicholls began a four-game home stretch Oct. 5 and lost in a conference matchup to Sam
Houston State in three sets with scores of 26-24, 25-21 and 25-13.

Nicholls defeated Abilene Christian in a conference matchup Oct. 6 in five sets with scores of
25-12, 25-22, 21-25, 16-25 and 15-8.

The Colonels (3-17, 1-6 SLC) last won Sept. 12 against Mississippi Valley State at Stopher
Gymnasium.

Head coach Tommy Harold said the win is great for his team and a confidence builder.

“Being able to get over that hump is big,” Harold said. “It gives them confidence that they can
play and win. We’ve got a lot of season ahead of us, but it’s certainly a good step.”

Jade Piper, a junior setter from Orange, Texas, said the win over Abilene Christian showed them
how much their hard work had paid off.

“It was a good win for us,” Piper said. “It feels good to see that our hard work and our team
chemistry is really getting better.”

Stephanie Tobison, a senior outside hitter from Carol Stream, Ill., said the team really needed a
victory after a plethora of defeats.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Tobison said. “We’ve really been pushing for a win, wanting to
finally have all of our practice pay off.”

Tobison also said winning against a team heavily favored to defeat them was exciting.

Coach Harold said he enjoys the home crowd and the next two games will present a challenge.

Harold said, “Central Arkansas is playing at a high level right now. They’re getting some votes
in the mid major Top 25 poll, so it will be a challenge, but it’s not always who is best on paper
[who wins].”

Piper said the same about the next two home games, but their hard work prepares them for the
challenge.

Piper said, “They’re going to be tough, but I feel like we’ve been working hard and we prepared
for them. And I think that if we work together and play our game that we shouldn’t have a
problem.”

Nicholls State plays Central Arkansas tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. and Northwestern State
Saturday at noon at Stopher Gymnasium.

Statistics (vs. Sam Houston State and vs. Abilene Christian):
#2 Hill, Brieanna: six kills, one block and two digs
#4 Weimer, Emily: 12 kills and 5 blocks
#5 Tobison, Stephanie: 17 kills, three aces, three blocks, one assist and 17 digs
#6 Piper, Jade: 59 assists and 23 digs
#9 Williams, Imanie: 19 kills and four blocks
#11 Becerra, Victoria: 10 digs
#14 Venable, Emily: eight assists and 36 digs
#17 Wozniak, Meghan: two assists
#19 Lerille, Sydney: 14 kills, five digs, four aces, seven blocks and one assist