ARLINGTON, Texas – Riding the fine play of Stacey DiFrancesco, the Northwestern State volleyball team will look to win its third straight when it returns to conference play on Saturday with a road match against Texas-Arlington at 2.

 

NSU (8-14, 4-5) is coming off a 3-0 sweep over La. Tech on Wednesday and has won six of its last seven sets. DiFrancesco posted her eighth consecutive double-double with 11 kills and 15 digs, and currently ranks second in the Southland Conference in kills, averaging 3.71 per set.

 

Keelie Arneson recorded a match-high 24 digs against the Lady Techsters, and also dished out five assists. Arneson is among the top-5 leaders in the SLC in digs, averaging 4.94 per set.

 

In its last conference match, NSU downed McNeese State, 3-1, on Oct. 15. Emily Sweet registered a career-high 52 assists in the match, and currently leads the Lady Demons in that category with 740 (9.25 a/s) on the year.

 

As a team, the Lady Demons enter the match as the No. 1 ranked SLC team in services aces in conference play. They average 1.81 aces per set, topped by Mackenzie Neely's 14 aces in nine matches. Neely also leads the team in blocks with 62 (0.75 b/s) on the season.

 

UTA (7-16, 3-6) comes in on a five-game skid and has dropped 15 of its last 17 sets. Its best results were 3-0 sweeps over Lamar and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

 

The Mavs are anchored by senior Alicia Shafer who leads the SLC in digs in conference play, averaging 5.71 digs per set. Senior Tara Frantz propels the offense averaging 3.55 kills per set, ranking her third in the SLC, right behind DiFrancesco.

 

If the Lady Demons defeat UTA, they will reach the .500 mark in conference play for the first time this season. The team plays with a roster of nine freshman, two sophomores and a junior.