THIBODAUX, La. — Nicholls volleyball went toe-to-toe with Stephen F. Austin through a marathon opening set Saturday afternoon, but the Ladyjacks took control from there to earn a 3-0 Southland Conference victory inside David R. Stopher Gymnasium.

Stephen F. Austin won the match 29-27, 25-11, 25-12, improving to 10-7 overall and remaining unbeaten in Southland play at 4-0. Nicholls dropped to 8-9 overall and 1-3 in conference action.

The opening set was easily the most competitive of the afternoon.

Nicholls and SFA traded momentum throughout a frame that featured 15 ties and four lead changes. Both teams finished the set with 16 kills, but the difference came in the mistakes. Nicholls committed 10 attacking errors on 49 swings while SFA had just five errors on 44 attempts.

That allowed the Ladyjacks to escape with the 29-27 win and grab the early advantage.

From there, SFA found another gear offensively.

The Ladyjacks hit .444 in the second set, recording 13 kills with only one attacking error on 27 attempts. Nicholls struggled to find the same rhythm, finishing with eight kills and nine errors as SFA rolled to a 25-11 victory.

The Colonels continued to have trouble breaking through in the third. Nicholls had seven kills against 10 errors and hit -.091 in the final set while SFA remained efficient at .269. The Ladyjacks closed out the match with a 25-12 win.

For the match, Stephen F. Austin finished with 39 kills and only nine errors on 97 attempts for a .309 hitting percentage. Nicholls totaled 31 kills but committed 29 attacking errors on 113 attempts, finishing at .018.

Kerra Arrington led the Colonels with seven kills, while Madison Smith added six. Zaharrah Edwards-Wyllie had one of Nicholls' most efficient offensive performances, finishing with five kills on 13 attempts and hitting .231. Maya Schirmer added four kills while hitting .250.

Natalie Navarro anchored the Nicholls defense with 15 digs. Isabela Padilla handed out 15 assists and added six digs, while Jenna Cicherski recorded 12 assists and four digs.

Stephen F. Austin was led offensively by Katherine Holtman, who finished with 10 kills while hitting .500. Avery Koonsen added eight kills and 15 digs, while Molly Cravens finished with seven kills and helped lead a strong SFA presence at the net.

The Ladyjacks also held the advantage defensively with 48 digs to Nicholls' 42 and consistently forced the Colonels into difficult swings as the match progressed.

For Nicholls, the biggest takeaway comes from just how close the Colonels were in the opening set. They showed they could match an unbeaten Southland opponent point-for-point early, but the errors became too much to overcome as the afternoon went on.

With conference play continuing, limiting those mistakes and finding a way to carry the level of play from Saturday's first set throughout an entire match will be the next challenge for the Colonels.