The Nicholls volleyball team secured its first conference victory in a three-set sweep of the University of New Orleans on Thursday night.

The win came as a relief to Head Coach Jonea Rima after consecutive defeats at the hands of conference opponents, Houston Christian University (5-9 (2-1)) and Northwestern State University(6-5(1-1)).

“[It feels] great. We want to prove ourselves in the conference and it’s nice to get a win with home-court advantage. The girls did some good things tonight, the offense looked nice and they played really well together,” Rima said.

The Colonels dominated in the first set going on a 6-2 run to open the set before the Privateers scored four straight points to tie. The Colonels responded with a 14-5 run, kickstarted by a  Jordan Gamble kill on the next point to take advantage. The Colonels scored three of

the last four points to take the set 25-18.

Set two started off with a back-and-forth battle, Nicholls keeping a small lead through the first 12 points before UNO scored three straight points to take a 14-12 lead.  Nicholls answered swiftly with a 7-1 run to take momentum. The teams traded blows the rest of the set but the lead proved insurmountable for UNO as Nicholls won 25-20.

UNO got out to a strong start in set three, leading through most of the set. A 9-3 run late in the set helped UNO take a commanding 22-18 lead. Nicholls staged a comeback, scoring seven of the last eight point

s to clinch the sweep with a 25-23 victory.

Getting back to the basics helped the Colonels succeed in the final set, something Outside Hitter Tierney Terrell said the team put an emphasis on late in the game.

“Capitalizing and making sure we do everything we need to do and staying disciplined helped us pull out the win,” Terrell said.

Coach Rima echoed the sentiment, saying it was up to the players on the court in the end.

Outside Hitter Ti

ereny Terrell led the team in kills with 16, her second most this season, and capped off an all-around performance with five digs.

Rima said the performance is indicative of the Sophomore’s patience and commitment to growth in the offseason.

“She improved so much from last season. I’m happy she played beach in the spring and got a lot of touches,” Reima said. “She is a clutch player at times and it’s nice to see her be successful tonight.”

The Colonels are back in action Tuesday against McNeese State University in Lake Charles.

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Photo by: Brogan Burns