THIBODAUX - After picking up their first win of the 2010 campaign on Saturday, the Nicholls State University women's volleyball team (1-2) will try to make it two in a row when they head to the 2010 Ragin' Cajun Invitational at UL-Lafayette.
Nicholls opens the weekend on Friday against Houston Baptist. The Colonels will be looking to avenge a 2009 loss to the Huskies at the Rice Invitational. First serve is set for 4 p.m. on Friday at the Earl K. Long Gym in Lafayette.
The Colonels opened the season at the Southern Miss Invitational last week, and, after a pair of hard-fought losses to Kennesaw State and Southern Miss, Nicholls picked up its first win of the season with a 3-0 victory over South Alabama.
The victory marked the first win for first-year head coach TeAna Tramel, and the first win for the Colonels against South Alabama since 2006.
Nicholls heads into the weekend ranked second in the Southland Conference in digs/set. The Colonels have totaled 153 digs in their first nine sets for a 17.00 dig/set average. Junior libero Danielle Daigle has led Nicholls defensive efforts in the first week, compiling a 4.78 dig/set average (43 digs, nine sets).
Meanwhile, the Colonels saw strong showings from outside hitters
Jennifer Brandt and
Lauren Chapman in their first week of action. Brandt, a sophomore, and Chapman, a freshman, tallied 29 kills each in their first three matches, tieing for fourth in the league with a 3.22 kill/set average.
After Friday's tilt with the Huskies, the Colonels will return to action on Saturday with a pair of matches. Nicholls opens the second day of the two-day tournament with a 10 a.m. first serve against Jackson State before returning to the court for the final match of the tournament, a 3 p.m. first serve against UL-Lafayette.
Live stats for every match of the 2010 Ragin' Cajun Invitational will be made available for free, and streaming video of every match will be available for $9.95, at the
Ragin' Cajun Tournament Central webpage.
Following the Ragin' Cajun Invitational, the Colonels will return to Nicholls to host a pair of four-team tournaments in consecutive weekends, beginning with the Nicholls Invitational on Sept. 3.