NATCHITOCHES – Coming off a 1-1 week that includes a signature win over Central Arkansas to end its 31-game home winning streak, Northwestern State will resume conference play with a match against Lamar on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Prather Coliseum.

 

The Lady Demons (6-13, 3-4) were able to put an end to Central Arkansas' streak when Jessica Guttierrez came in and served up an ace on match point. It was just her first service ace of the year, and second match serving.

 

Stacey DiFrancesco pounded a career-high 22 kills in the affair to assure NSU the victory. She's currently the Southland Conference's leading attacker in conference play and ranks first in kills, averaging 4.25 per set. Furthermore, DiFrancesco has recorded a double-double in five straight matches for the Lady Demons, and has 10 on the season.

 

Kelly Jimenez is coming off a career match as she finished on a personal-best 16 attacks against Texas State on Saturday. The match marked her 10th double-digit kill performance, and she also has seven double-doubles in the 2011 campaign.

 

Defensively for the Lady Demons, Keelie Arneson has recorded a team-high 355 digs (4.93) and ranks top-5 in the SLC in that category on the season.

 

NSU comes into the match ranking first in the SLC in services aces in conference matches with 48 (1.71 a/s). Mackenzie Neely leads the way with 10, and Arneson and Nicole Hajka each have 9 against conference foes.

 

Lamar (6-15, 4-2) is coming off back-to-back wins over McNeese State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last week.

 

The Cardinals are led by sophomore outside hitter Sierra Whittaker who has tallied a team-high 215 kills (3.07 k/s) this season. Junior libero Angel Coylar is the key component to Lamar's defense, as she has recorded a team-high 251 digs (3.75 d/s) and was named SLC Defensive Player of the Week Honorable Mention on Monday.

 

The Lady Demons will also be home on Saturday when they host McNeese State at noon at Prather Coliseum on Breast Cancer Awareness day. Fans will be encouraged to wear pink, and baseball player Jordan Buckley will be selling t-shirts to support the American Cancer Society.

 

Additionally, NSU will be handing out a buy one combo get one combo free combo to Raising Canes after each home victory.