THIBODAUX— Carissa Chainey and Kayla Wilson combined for 31 kills Tuesday night in a McNeese volleyball Southland Conference straight set win (25-17, 25-19, 25-18) over Nicholls to improve to 11-14 overall and 9-3 in league play.  The loss drops Nicholls to 3-19 overall and 1-11 in the SLC.
 
"I'm really proud of the way our team made adjustments after our last match," said head coach Sasha Karelov.  "We cleaned up our unforced errors and had one of our most efficient hitting performances of the season.
 
"Carissa (Chainey) once again, was on fire.  The load that she carries for this team is so impressive.  I'm excited to build off this momentum and be back at home the rest of the week."
 
As a team, McNeese ended the match with a .448 hitting percent and committed only seven hitting errors in 96 attempts.  The Cowgirls came out on fire, hitting .516 in the opening set and followed that with a .469 in set two before hitting .364 in the final set.
 
Chainey led all players with 17 kills with eight coming in the first set.  Wilson put down 14 kills in 21 attempts without committing an error for a scorching .667 hitting percent.
 
"Big credit goes to our solid serve receive from Bailey (Tillman), Kendall (Osgood), and Carissa (Chainey), and Emma (Hendricks) for her calm and clean distribution.  Kayla (Wilson) was outstanding.  She played smart and aggressive with zero hitting errors."
 
McNeese was active at the net where they were credited with 13 blocks with Tshilanda Diouf picking up six blocks and McKenzie Moore contributed with four blocks.
 
"Tshilanda (Diouf) was also lights out with her block touches, high swings, and also no hitting errors."
 
Bailey Tillman and Kendall Osgood handled the back line of defense by combining for 27 digs with Tillman leading the way with 15.  Osgood was right behind with 12 digs.
 
Setter Emma Hendircks dished out her second most assists this season, leading the way with 47 assists.
 
Nicholls was led in kills by Gracie Campbell who had 11.
 
McNeese will return home for its next two matches beginning with Thursday's match against Incarnate Word.  The match has a 4 p.m. start. The Cowgirls will also host Texas A&M-Commerce at 11 a.m. Saturday.
 
SET 1
• Nicholls held a 14-11 lead but a 10-2 run by the Cowgirls gave McNeese a 21-16. During this run, McNeese scored seven straight points behind the serve of Kendall Osgood
• After a Nicholls point, McNeese scored four straight points with kills from Carissa Chainey and Tshilanda Diouf and used a Nicholls error for the final point to win the set.
 
SET 2
• A kill by McKenzie Moore broke an early 4-4 tie
• Leading 10-8, McNeese went on a mini run to lead 18-13
• Nicholls would get as close as four points late in the set but another mini run and a kill by Kayla Wilson gave McNeese the win and a two-set advantage.
 
SET 3
• Emma Hendricks served for three straight points to break and early 3-3 tie to give McNeese a 6-4 lead.
• Two straight kills by Chainey extended the McNeese lead to 13-8 then a kill by Sanni Rantanen put the Cowgirls ahead, 21-15
• McNeese ended the set and the match by winning four of the last seven points
 
 
McNEESE NOTES
• The win over Nicholls is the second this season and the ninth straight win over the Colonels
• McNeese committed only seven hitting errors in the match
• McNeese hit over .364 in each of the three sets
• McNeese was credited with 13 blocks
• Carissa Chainey and Kayla Wilson were the only two Cowgirls to record double figure kills
• Chainey led all players with 17 kills
• Wilson added 12 kills on the night
• Bailey Tillman led all players with 15 digs
• Kendall Osgood was credited with 12 digs
• Tshilanda Diouf led the Cowgirls with six blocks
• Emma Hendricks dished out 47 assists, her second most as a Cowgirl