James Joseph Whitney Sr.
September 15, 2009
Genevieve D. Carlos
September 17, 2009
Teamwork. Athleticism. Determination. Will. Communication.
All are vital assets to have in the game of volleyball. For the Nicholls State Lady Colonels volleyball team, all are coming to fruition at the right time.
Despite a 2-5 overall record at the early point in the season, fifth-year head volleyball coach Chris Laird believes his team is doing the right things to set themselves up for a run during the conference slate.
For instance, the Lady Colonels pushed Conference USA member Southern Mississippi to the limit in what became a hard fought battle in Thibodaux. Even in the 3-1 loss, the Lady Colonels showed signs of a competitive team, losing two of the games by a combined five points.
Then there were last weekend’s matches during the Residence Inn-Kennesaw Great 8 Volleyball Challenge, where the Lady Colonels swept Rider 3-0 and defeated Alabama A & M 3-1 before eventually losing to the host school Kennesaw State 3-2.
And there’s this past weekend’s performance at the University of South Alabama Jaguar Classic.
If the early season results are any indication of the conference outlook, then all signs point to a competitive team come Sept. 25 at the conference opener against Southeastern, according to Laird.
“I feel like we are doing pretty good, but we are still without (senior) Maneika Golden, who is still nursing an injury,” the coach said. “She brings a little ball control defense – not to mention offense. I feel like our passing is what is kind of missing out the most”
But Laird said Golden’s absence on the court has given his younger players a chance to get valuable playing time.
“We lost a tough one to Kennesaw State. I felt like that match could have gone either way but it didn’t go in our direction,” he said. “The good thing is we had four freshmen, a sophomore and a senior on the court and we were playing well with them, so that is promise for the future. We also want to get some wins right now to give our girls some confidence for conference coming up.
“Every chance they get to play together they are feeling confident about themselves and the people playing next to them,” he added. “We are making good strides mentally and I feel like that is where our game really needs to pick up quickly.”
Among the emerging players are freshmen Jennifer Brandt, Jessica Addicks, Jasmine Harris and Nancy Taylor.
Brandt leads the team in kills with 76. Addicks is fifth with 30. Both Taylor and Harris have a combined 17 digs.
Seniors Amy Beshir, who is third in the Southland Conference in hitting and fifth in assists, Rachel Spreen, who leads the conference in service aces (14), Amy Whitehead, who leads the conference in aces per game (6.96), and sophomore Danielle Daigle, who leads the conference with 4.96 digs per game, have stepped into the leadership role early in the season.
“Jessica Addicks has really come out of nowhere and has been doing a great job for us in the middle,” coach Laird said. “We are excited about her. Jennifer Brandt is doing good since she came here. Nancy Taylor gave us a good spark. She’s been making some good decisions.
“I’m really looking forward to Jasmine Harris. She has really made some big improvements so we expect to see her on the court more,” he added.
With the non-conference slate winding down, Laird said it will be up to his team to determine how bad they want to win and whether they can keep it going.
“It’s been based on what they wanted to do,” he said. “They have maintained their focus when coming to practice.
“They have done a great job of staying in tune and dialed in to what we area talking about,” she added. “At the end of the day, it’s going to be all that.”
Nicholls’ Amy Whitehead (7) currently leads the Southland Conference in aces per game (6.96) and is a key reason why the Lady Colonels have remained competitive early in the season. * Photo courtesy of LISA NEAL
