HOUSTON – HCU edged Nicholls in five sets (21-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-16, 15-13) to claim and undefeated weekend in Southland Conference volleyball Saturday afternoon in Sharp Gym. Houston Christian University (HCU), formerly Houston Baptist University (HBU), underwent a name change in September 2022.

Junior outside hitter Sara Arroyo hit .302 and registered 19 kills for the Huskies (10-5, 2-0 SLC).  Freshman outside hitter Shelby O'Neal had 13 kills and eight digs, while senior outside hitter Anna Gadway posted a double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs. Redshirt freshman Grace McLauglin dished out 46 assists along with 10 digs, while sophomore setter Mollee Henicke added 10 assists and five digs. Sophomore middle blocker Audrey Pearce had nine kills and seven digs, senior middle blocker Jada Allen had seven kills and seven blocks and senior libero Kaley Feris came up with 26 digs.

Devon Bright led the Colonels (4-10, 1-1) with 14 kills, four digs, and four blocks. Taylor Heeb dished out 23 assists, while Kadie Becnel led Nicholls defensively with 22 digs and two assists.

The fifth set was tied, 6-6, but HCU scored four-straight points on two kills each by Allen and Arroyo. Nicholls later answered with three in a row -- all on kills by Bright -- to pull with one at 12-11, but Arroyo put an end to the run with a kill and McLaughlin added an ace to get to set point. A pair of HCU attack errors got the Colonels back to within one again at 14-13, but Arroyo put away the match with a kill.

HCU hit .188 for the match, with Nicholls hitting .174. The Huskies outdug the Colonels, 83-63, but were outblocked, 14-11. HCU also had eight aces to Nicholls' five.

The Huskies return to action on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Sharp Gym hosting Texas A&M Commerce.