Nicholls Stuns Sam Houston State, Advances to Tournament Semifinals
SAN ANTONIO - In a four-set stunner led by Nicholls senior Manieka Golden's double-double of 21 kills and 14 digs, the No. 7 seed Colonels upset the No. 2 seed Sam Houston State in match three of the Southland Conference tournament Friday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
In their second consecutive tournament appearance, Nicholls advances to its first Southland tournament semifinals since 2003. The Colonels will face the winner of match four between No. 3 seed Stephen F. Austin and tournament host No. 6 seed UTSA Saturday at 4 p.m.
Golden posted her fifth double-double of the season and notched her second-highest kill total this year (21) hitting a match-high .405. Sophomore Rachel Yezak had 10 kills and seven assists and senior Amy Whitehead handed out 47 assists.
A tight match throughout, Sam Houston took the first set (25-21) in what would be the widest winning margin of all four sets. The entire match saw 31 ties and 11 lead changes. Nicholls stormed back to take the next three sets 25-23, 26-24, 25-22.
Sam Houston senior Anna Ferguson playing in her last game, led the Bearkats with 22 kills and sophomore Carli Kolbe recorded her league-leading 18th double-double of the season with 17 kills and 16 digs.
Post Match Quotes:
Nicholls Coach Chris Laird
"Anything can happen in postseason and this is unreal for us right now. We took advantage of a great opportunity early on and bounced back from a close first set and we really played up to our potential. Manieka and Rachel played very well and as a team we played up to our potential."
Nicholls Senior Manieka Golden
"We knew coming in we had to play our best, and we were able to pull together and play one of our best matches of the season."
Sam Houston State Coach Brenda Gray
"We just allowed them to hang around too long. We looked like we were in control in the third set, but they fought back. Our offense wasn't clicking tonight. Defensively, we dug well but we weren't blocking and they were. We talked about not looking past Nicholls and I don't think we did. They must have had an off night when we beat them in the regular season. This is one of the best teams I've ever coached. They've had a quality work ethic and they're quality people."
Sam Houston State Senior Anna Ferguson
"This one really hurts. We just didn't get it done tonight and it's really disappointing. Nicholls just outplayed us."