THIBODAUX, La. — Nicholls appeared to be in control after taking the first two sets Tuesday night, but Grambling State answered with three consecutive set victories to complete a 3-2 comeback over the Colonels.

Nicholls won the opening two frames, 27-25 and 25-22, before Grambling shifted the momentum and took the final three sets, 25-16, 25-20 and 15-12.

The Colonels finished with more kills and digs than Grambling, but errors and the Tigers’ advantage at the net proved costly as the match progressed.

Nicholls Takes Early Control

The opening set was the closest of the night, with the Colonels grinding out a 27-25 victory. Nicholls carried that momentum into the second, winning 25-22 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.

Offensively, Nicholls produced some of its best numbers during those opening sets. The Colonels hit .286 in the first set with 21 kills and followed with 15 kills while hitting .216 in the second.

But the match changed dramatically after the break.

Grambling held Nicholls to a .000 hitting percentage in the third set as the Colonels recorded 10 kills against 10 attacking errors. The Tigers took advantage and rolled to a 25-16 win to keep the match alive.

Grambling then hit .286 in the fourth set while Nicholls committed eight more attack errors. The Tigers won the frame 25-20 and forced a decisive fifth.

Tigers Complete the Comeback

Nicholls stayed within striking distance throughout the fifth set, but Grambling was more efficient down the stretch.

The Colonels recorded seven kills with three errors on 22 attacks in the final frame, hitting .182. Grambling countered with nine kills and only three errors on 20 swings for a .300 hitting percentage.

Nicholls fought off one match point when Lizzie Kraft delivered a service ace to cut Grambling’s advantage to 14-12. The Tigers responded on the next rally, however, as Kenya Lucas put away the final kill off an assist from Reece Cook to secure the 15-12 set and the match.

Arrington Leads Colonels Offense

Kera Arrington led Nicholls with a match-high 21 kills, hitting .283 on 53 attacks with just six errors.

Zaha Edwards-Wyllie added 15 kills, while McKenzie Mitchell finished with 12. Maya Schirmer contributed eight kills while hitting .250, and Harper Holden recorded six kills with just one error for a .357 hitting percentage.

Nicholls finished the night with 70 kills, nine more than Grambling’s 61, and held a slight 77-75 advantage in digs.

The difference came in efficiency and mistakes.

Nicholls committed 35 attack errors compared to only 16 for Grambling. That allowed the Tigers to finish with a .278 hitting percentage, while the Colonels hit .187.

Grambling also controlled the battle at the net with 11 blocks compared to six for Nicholls.

Both teams recorded five service aces, while Nicholls committed 10 service errors compared to seven for Grambling.

Grambling Finds Balanced Attack

Lyric Jordan led Grambling with 18 kills on a .286 hitting percentage, while Lucas added 11 kills and hit .296.

The Tigers received an especially efficient performance from Rihianna Brown, who recorded nine kills with only one error on 13 attacks for a .615 hitting percentage.

Lainy Evans added nine kills, while Angelique Pena recorded eight kills and hit .368.

That balance became increasingly important as Grambling worked its way back into the match after dropping the first two sets.

Colonels Unable to Finish Fast Start

For Nicholls, the final stat line showed both the potential of the offense and the missed opportunities that ultimately decided the match.

The Colonels produced 70 kills and had four players reach at least eight kills, but 35 attacking errors helped Grambling erase the early deficit. After hitting .286 in the opening set, Nicholls hit .216, .000, .205 and .182 over the final four frames.

Grambling, meanwhile, remained much more efficient throughout the night and hit at least .286 in four of the five sets.

After building a 2-0 advantage, Nicholls was unable to slow the Tigers’ momentum as Grambling completed the reverse sweep with three straight set victories.

Final: Grambling State 3, Nicholls 2
Set scores: 25-27, 22-25, 25-16, 25-20, 15-12