Box Score McNeese Volleyball
 
WESTLAKE- McNeese volleyball completed its spring season opening weekend with a thrilling come from behind 3-2 (25-22, 22-25, 24-26, 25-19, 17-15) win over Nicholls here Saturday.
 
"It's refreshing to know that our team can battle back," said head coach Kristee Porter. "We were down six or seven points periodically in the match but we continued to compete and pushed until the final point."
 
McNeese (2-0, 2-0 SLC) picked up from where they left off from Thursday's 3-0 win over Southeastern Louisiana by taking the first set 25-22.
 
Regan Stiawalt picked up her first double double of the season with a career high 23 kills along with 14 digs. Alexis Lambert also ended the match with a double double, also her first of the year with15 kills and 15 digs. Kendall Glueck contributed with 12 kills along with four blocks. Jaiden Kennedy also had four blocks on the day.
 
Maddison Fontenot led the Cowgirls on defense with 16 digs while Baylee Laskoskie was credited with 13 digs. Laskoskie also dished out a team high 31 assists.
 
Nicholls (0-3, 0-2 SLC) took the early lead but a Stiawalt kill was the first of three straight points for the Cowgirls to lead 5-2. The Cowgirls put together another string of points to extend their lead to 10-4 and it was a lead the Cowgirls wouldn't give up as they took the first set.
 
The Colonels took an overall 2-1 match lead by winning the second set by a score of 25-22 and the third set 26-24.
 
The Cowgirls entered the fourth set in a must win situation to send the match to a fifth and final set and both teams traded points early on but four straight Cowgirl points behind the serve of Fontenot put the Cowgirls up 6-3. Leading 20-16, McNeese scored five of the last eight points to win the set and force the match to a fifth and deciding set.
 
Both teams traded points for the first six points before the Colonels went on a 7-3 run to take a 10-6 lead but the Cowgirls fought back to tie the set at 12 apiece. McNeese would then outscore Nicholls 5-2 the rest of the way to win the match 17-15 and the overall set 3-2.
 
"I don't have words," said Porter. "It speaks to who we are as a team and who they are and how much they love this university and how much they love competing. Regardless of what happened in the past couple of months, they wanted to represent our university well at the highest level and I think they have done that. The have gone above and beyond what we have asked them to do. We basically had three weeks of practice and it was a grind for them. The girls have embraced it and every day they continued to improve."