By: Robbie Kleinmuntz, NSU Volleyball SID
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Having just 44 minutes to rebound and prepare in-between matches didn't affect the Northwestern State volleyball team as it went on to defeat Jackson State by the scores of 25-16, 25-20, 25-27 and 25-22 in the second match of the day at the Southern Mississippi Invitational.
The Lady Demons (1-1) dropped a four-setter against Tennessee-Chattanooga in the opener earlier in the day after they won the first set of the match then dropped three-in-a-row.
“(In-between games) we talked mostly about out-of-system volleyball and minimizing our errors on the pins,” said co-head coach Hugh Hernesman. “We did a really good job of that in the first couple sets.”
The Lady Demons came out on fire, committing just five errors in the first two sets.
“Our passing improved a lot in this match. Arneson especially had a great game passing and gave our outside-hitters much better looks,” Hernesman said.
“Coleman is doing exactly what we thought she'd do when we recruited her,” Hernesman added.
Clinging to an early 6-5 lead, the Lady Demons used a 9-2 run to bust open the first set and win it 25-16. DiFrancesco registered five kills in the set while Coleman added four and hit at a .667 mark. Emily Sweet dished out all 12 assists and the Lady Demons recorded just three errors in the set.
Staying on cue, NSU committed just two errors in the second set, used five more kills from DiFrancesco and a 7-2 run to come out ahead 25-20. Coleman recorded three blocks in the set, with Sweet helping out with 10 more assists. NSU out-blocked Jackson State 7-1 in the set.
After losing the first point in the third set, NSU used three aces by Hajka to go on an 8-0 run and appeared to be in control. Though, the Lady Tigers used two different 4-0 runs to come back and take a 23-21 lead. The Lady Demons would eventually drop the set 27-25.
“We gave away a few too many free points in the third set and that gave them life,” Hernesman said.
The fourth set started out with neither team leading by more than two points until NSU went on a 5-0 run to take a 17-11 lead, which proved to be the deciding streak of the match. Coleman recorded the kill on match-point.
TENNESSEE-CHATTANOOGA 3, NSU 1
In the first match of the day, an almost evenly played contest just didn't finish the way that the Lady Demon team wanted, as NSU dropped a 3-1 decision to Tennessee-Chattanooga.
“I am really proud of our effort,” said Hernesman. “The biggest challenge for us right now is just trying to ride the emotional rollercoaster. When things don't go well for us, we can't be too over-impacted by it. It's going to be all about controlling our emotions.”
DiFrancesco and Jimenez led the way for NSU, spiking 12 and 10 balls, respectively.
The duo also had four blocks each, and freshmen Mackenzie Neely helped out with four more.
NSU came out of the locker room on fire in the first set, as some big spikes by Neely got the Lady Demons out to a10-5 lead. NSU stayed consistent throughout the set, and at 23-19 Jimenez and Coleman had back-to-back kills to finish it off.
The Lady Demons kept the momentum going in the second set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead. This is when Tennessee-Chattanooga got hot and took its first lead 8-7. The teams then battled back-and-forth to a 20-20 tie, but the Lady Mocs ran away with the last five points and the set 25-20.
“I was expecting them to be more nervous from the start,” said Hernesman. “We just started playing out-of-system volleyball after the first set and that led to us going for shots that we shouldn't be going for right now.
NSU found itself trailing 11-4 in the third set, and clawed its way back after a Coleman kill cut the lead down to 23-20. The quick hands of Arneson helped bring the Lady Demons down to just 22-23, but Tennessee-Chattanooga was able to close it out 25-23. Arneson tallied a game-high 31 digs.
“The defense is something we work on a lot and it really kept us in the match,” Hernesman said. “Arneson's defense was really great.”
A thrilling fourth set started with NSU down 4-0. After coming back to tie it 8-8, a series of even exchanges kept the score even at 11-11. The Lady Mocs then looked to be control of the match when they went up 16-13 and a NSU timeout, but the Lady Demons came out fired up and took six straight points to capture a 19-16 lead. NSU came so close to closing it out after leading 24-21, but Tennessee-Chattanooga stayed tough to win the next five points and the match.
Northwestern State will finish off the weekend with a game against Southern Mississippi on Saturday at noon.
