Nicholls volleyball team wins first two sets but loses match in five to Northwestern State

Trailing throughout the third set of its match against visiting Northwestern State, Nicholls found itself down 20-24 and Autumn Perry at the service line

The Lady Colonels ran off three points to trail 23-24 and were within a couple of points from a three-game sweep.

Instead, a kill by Northwestern State’s Brenna Burrell gave Northwestern State a 25-23 win to take the momentum away and the Demons never gave it back as Nicholls went on to lose in five sets, 25-21, 25-23, 23-25, 23-25, 7-15 Saturday afternoon at Stopher Gym.

Nicholls trailed 6-8 in the fifth set. Behind the serving of Jordan Gamble, the Demons rans off six-straight points to reach match point.

After Nicholls scored on a kill by Deniz Akgul, Northwestern clinched the match on a kill by Gamble.

“It was a tough loss,” Nicholls coach Jonea Rima said. “We had our chances. It took too long. We dug ourselves a hole and we just didn’t have enough time to kind of come back.”

The loss dropped Nicholls to 1-10 in the Southland Conference and 3-18 overall.

Northwestern State moved to 7-5 in the SLC and 11-12 overall.

In a back-and-forth opening set, Nicholls built an early lead before trailing for the first time at 8-9.

Each team enjoyed leads of three points – Northwestern State at 14-11, and Nicholls at 20-17 and 24-21.

With Nicholls leading 24-21 and Gracie Campbell at the service line, Campbell closed out the first set on a kill.

In the second set, Nicholls jumped out to a 4-0 lead and led by as many as five on a couple of occasions.

Northwestern State rallied back to tie the set at 11-11.

The last tie was at 19-19 before Nicholls pulled out to a 24-20 lead but the final point proved to be hard to come by.

Two points off Ashlyn Svoboda’s serve rallied the Demons before Nicholls secured the set on a cross-court kill by Perry for the 25-23 win,

“I think we came in ready to play. I think some teams are underestimating us, just because of the record and everything else, and I think that gives us an opportunity to jump in front of other teams,” Rima said.

Nicholls never led in the third set and trailed by as many as six points.

Down 20-24 and with Perry at the service line, Nicholls ran off three-straight points to pull to within 23-24.

With Perry still serving, a kill by Burrell handed Nicholls a 23-25 loss and ended the Lady Colonels’ hopes of a sweep.

“I don’t know if you can take sweeps in the conference, honestly. I think we have to build on each win for each game. I think you will be going four or five sets most games,” said Rima

The fourth set featured each team holding leads of no more than two points.

A service error by Akgul broke a 23-23 tie and service ace by Gamble forced the deciding fifth set.

Perry led Nicholls in kills with 19, while Campbell had 18 and Akqul 14. Paris Dixon had four blocks, Jhayla Bolden three and Addison Phares two. Berra Soyler had 32 assists for Nicholls and Kendall Battistella 31. Rae Leano had 17 digs.

For Northwestern, Teresa Garza had 14 kills, Gamble 12, and Reaghan Thompson 11. Jordan had seven blocks to pace the Demons. Amina Attra had 27 assists Piper Boydstun 25. Svoboda had 19 digs.

Nicholls will be back in action when it hosts McNeese at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.