NATCHITOCHES – With a trip to the Southland Conference tournament still at stake, the Northwestern State volleyball team will host Southeastern Louisiana on Thursday at 7 in Prather Coliseum.

 

Starting setter Emily Sweet returned to the lineup for NSU (8-19, 4-10) after being thought to be lost for the season, and distributed a combined 85 assists against Lamar and McNeese State last weekend. She also recorded her seventh double-double of the season against the Cowgirls, digging up 10.

 

Stacey DiFrancesco comes into the match ranking third in the SLC in kills, with 4.04 per set. She has posted a double-double in 11 of the last 12 matches, most recently against McNeese State (18 kills, 13 digs). Furthermore, DiFrancesco's 12 double-doubles in conference play is the most by any SLC player this season.

 

Defensively, Keelie Arneson has scored double-digit digs in 26 of 27 matches on the year. She places sixth in the SLC in that category with 4.26 per set.

 

SLU (5-26, 1-13) comes in on a three-game skid after defeating Lamar 3-1 on Oct. 27. Junior middle-blocker Courtney Donald leads the offense with 241 kills (2.21 k/s), while sophomore libero Megan McMillan ranks top-10 in the SLC in digs, averaging 3.53 per set.

 

In the first meeting between the Lady Demons and the Lions, NSU pulled out a 3-1 road victory on Sept. 29. Sweet, DiFrancesco and Kelly Jimenez all had double-doubles in the match, while Nicole Hajka killed eight and hit at a .294 mark.

 

In order for NSU to qualify for the SLC tournament, it would need to win its last two, have Texas A&M-Corpus Christi lose its last two, and have McNeese State lose at least once depending on how many sets it wins.

 

Check www.nsudemons.com on Friday for an updated scenario.

 

The Lady Demons will conclude the regular-season on Saturday with a home match against Nicholls State at 2. NSU won the first meeting on Oct. 1, 3-1 on the road.