Nicholls Returns Home Looking to Even Season Series with Grambling

THIBODAUX, La. — After spending the last eight matches away from Thibodaux, Nicholls volleyball finally returns to Stopher Gymnasium Wednesday night for a rematch with Grambling State.

First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The Colonels enter the matchup at 6-4, while Grambling comes in at 2-6.

This will already be the second meeting between the two Louisiana programs this season. Grambling won the first matchup, 3-1, on Sept. 2 in Grambling. Nicholls dominated the opening set 25-14, but the Tigers responded by taking the next three, 25-23, 25-22 and 25-19.

That first meeting provides a pretty clear blueprint for what Nicholls will need to clean up tonight. The Colonels finished with 49 kills to Grambling’s 37, but Nicholls committed 32 attack errors and hit just .131 for the match. Grambling also produced nine service aces and was able to take advantage of Nicholls’ mistakes after a rough opening set.

Colonels Return Home After Long Road Stretch

Nicholls has gone 4-2 since that loss to Grambling, picking up victories over Alcorn, Wiley, Mississippi Valley State and South Carolina State.

The Colonels went 1-2 last weekend at the ISTAP Collegiate Cup at Alabama State, falling to Miami (Ohio), sweeping South Carolina State and closing the tournament with a four-set loss to Alabama State.

Nicholls continues to feature a balanced offense. Senior setter Isabella Padilla has directed the attack with 316 assists, while four Colonels have already reached 60 kills.

Kera Arrington leads the team with 107 kills, followed by Mckenzie Mitchell with 84, Maya Schirmer with 66 and Zahahrah Edwards-Wyllie with 65.

Mitchell is coming off a strong performance against Alabama State, recording 12 kills and 10 digs for her third double-double of the season. Padilla added a season-high 40 assists, while Natalia Navarro led the back row with 16 digs.

Grambling Looking to Break Four-Match Skid

The Tigers have not won since beating Nicholls two weeks ago. Grambling followed that victory with losses to Alabama, Louisiana Tech, McNeese and Northwestern State, dropping its record to 2-6.

Despite the recent results, Grambling has several players capable of creating problems for Nicholls.

Lyric Jordan leads the Tigers with 94 kills, while Kenya Lucas has 60. Jordan was also Grambling’s biggest offensive threat in the first meeting, producing 12 kills while hitting .324.

Grambling uses multiple setters, with Alayna Howard totaling 135 assists and Reece Cook adding 115.

Defensively, Asialin Powell leads the Tigers with 127 digs, averaging 4.38 per set.

The Tigers have struggled with offensive consistency overall, hitting .146 as a team, while opponents are hitting .248 against them. Grambling averages 10.55 kills, 15.23 digs and 1.42 blocks per set.

What to Watch

For Nicholls, the biggest storyline may be simply playing cleaner volleyball than it did in the first meeting.

The Colonels showed they could generate offense against Grambling. The 49 kills were not the problem. The difference was giving away too many points through attacking and serving errors.

Nicholls will also need an answer for Jordan. She has been Grambling’s most consistent attacker and has already shown she can hurt the Colonels. Keeping Grambling out of system with aggressive serving could make it much harder for the Tigers to consistently get her good swings.

The other factor is Stopher Gymnasium.

Nicholls has not played at home since Aug. 28, when it split five-set matches against Stonehill and Oral Roberts. After eight consecutive matches away from Thibodaux, tonight gives the Colonels an opportunity to return home and build some momentum before heading to the Alabama Invitational later this week.

There is also a little more familiarity than usual for a mid-September nonconference match. Grambling owns the first meeting this season, but Nicholls has had the upper hand historically in recent matchups between the programs.

MATCH INFO:
Grambling State (2-6) at Nicholls (6-4)
Wednesday, Sept. 16
David R. Stopher Gymnasium — Thibodaux, Louisiana
First serve: 6:30 p.m.