HATTIESBURG, Miss. (Volleyball) -- The Grambling State University Lady Tiger volleyball team began their 2016 campaign with a tournament at the University of Southern Mississippi over the weekend and had a strong showing. The Lady Tigers competed against Tulane University, the University of Southern Mississippi, and McNeese State University. Grambling fought valiantly but were swept in all three matches, 0-3.

Against Tulane, GSU dropped all three sets with scores of 25-4, 25-18, 25-14. In the match, Chasity Nicks was an offensive force on the court recording four kills.  Diemend Richardson had team-high 10 assists and 4 digs. Defensively, Desiree Bishop and Maya Lucas each recorded one solo block each. As a team, the Lady Tigers finished the night with 17 kills, 16 assists, 16 digs, and 6.5 team blocks.

Tulane's Hannah Shaw accounted for 10 kills and Justine Bowers recorded a game-high 17 assists. Sarah Strasner finished the night with four service aces. Lisa Mordell closed the match with five digs. Tea Juric and Erika Hansel both recorded solo blocks. As a team, the Green Wave finished the match with 45 kills, 43 assists, 23 digs, 10 service aces, and six team blocks.

In the second match of the tournament, Grambling faced off with the Golden Eagles and dropped the match with scores of 25-11, 25-14, and 25-15. Kitagbe Cisse was the offensive leader with five kills. Cisse was follwed by Kevreion Ward and Nicks with four kills apiece. Richardson recorded eight assists. L'Muriell Thrower, Alleeyah Hensley, and Richardson each had a serving ace each. Defensively, Hensley recorded five digs. Collectively, GSU finished match with 17 kills, 16 assists, 13 digs, and three team blocks.

Stephany Purdue led the way for Southern Mississippi with nine kills, four service aces, and seven digs. Marketa Rademakers recorded a game high of 20 assists. Rademakers was followed by Sarah Bell with 12 assists. As a team, the Golden Eagles finished the match with 41 kills, 39 assists, 20 digs, 11 service aces, and five team blocks.

To close the road trip out, GSU went head-to-head with McNeese and were defeated with set scores of 25-16, 25-16, and 25-7. Nicks, Cisse, and Lucas each had four kills in the match. Richardson recorded 10 assists. Thrower and Richardson has one service ace each. Defensively, Hensely finished the game with six digs and Bishop finished with one solo block. The Lady Tigers finished the night with 19 digs, 17 kills, 16 assists, five team blocks, and two service aces.

The Cowgirls were led by Keegan Nelms and Katelyn Elliot with nine kills each. Alexandra Aguilera had a game high 32 assists. Defensively, Bridget Justis finished the match with 15 digs and Haley Schneider had one solo block. As a team, McNeese finished the night with 41 kills, 38 assists, 37 digs, six service aces, and four team blocks.

"The first game we looked nervous but eventually we settled down. We used a lot of different line ups to see what works and what doesn't. Our team has a lot of skills and just has to execute. Our main focus is settling down now and playing to our potential," stated Coach Demetria Keys-Johnson about the weekend.

Grambling continues play on the road at Texas College on August 31 at 6 p.m. in Tyler, Texas.

For complete coverage of Grambling State University Lady Tiger volleyball, please follow @GSU_Tigers on Twitter, GSU Tigers on Facebook, and @gsu_tigers on Instagram. You can also find up-to-date information on all things Grambling State Athletics at www.gsutigers.com.