SAN MARCOS, Texas – Stacey DiFrancesco recorded a career-high 18 kills and guided Northwestern State past Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday, 25-22, 25-17, 13-25 and 25-20.

 

“Stacey definitely took a big step this weekend with her game. It's really good to see her staying aggressive, even after getting blocked,” said co-head coach Hugh Hernesman. “She responded well and consistently stayed after it, which is exactly what we need her to do.”

 

Emily Sweet registered a double-double for the Lady Demons (2-8) with 32 assists and a career-high 14 digs. She also had a couple of aces in the match to put NSU ahead of UL (5-6).  

 

“14 digs is a very good number for anyone, but especially for a setter. Performances like this bring a whole new dynamic to our team defense,” said Hernesman. “She also made a lot of very good decisions, setting up our attackers with good matchups.”

 

Kelly Jimenez added on with eight kills, and also dug up 10 UL attacks. Furthermore, Keelie Arneson tallied a game-high 20 digs, and Emily Johnson and Tamara Hanna contributed with four digs each.

 

“Keelie did a really good job for us today on defense,” said Hernesman. “We use a lot of players in our defensive system and they all have different strengths. Johnson played great for us earlier today and Tamara contributed big too.”

 

 

The first set started fairly even with the teams tied 13-13 without any runs either way. UL then jumped out to a 17-13 lead, but the Lady Demons quickly tied it 17-17 after an Arneson ace and Jimenez kill. After the Ragin Cajuns won the next point, NSU took the lead 20-18 after spikes by DiFrancesco and Hajka. The Lady Demons then broke a 22-22 tie with kills by Coleman and Jimenez, and won the set 25-22.

 

DiFrancesco led the team with six kills and three digs in the set, and Jimenez chipped in with three kills and four digs, while hitting at a .429 mark. Sweet tallied a team-high nine assists, and Arneson led the way defensively with five digs.

 

Trailing 5-3 to start the second set, the Lady Demons used a Neely spike and Jimenez ace to go grab the lead, 6-5. Later ahead 14-12, Sweet and DiFrancesco registered kills to spurt a five-point run and extend the lead out to 19-12. That streak proved to be the decisive run of the set, as NSU would go on to win it 25-17 after kills by Jimenez and DiFrancesco finished it off.

 

DiFrancesco again paved the way, tacking on five more kills and a block. Arneson dug up five and contributed with three assists in the set. The NSU attackers did not allow UL to score a block in the second.

 

The Lady Demons got off to a slow start in the third, behind 10-2 after a seven point run by the Ragin Cajuns. NSU then trailed 13-4 when it took four out of five points to get back in it at 14-8. Though, it wasn't enough as UL would go on to win the set 25-13. The -.097 hitting percentage plagued the Lady Demons in the set.

 

The Ragin Cajuns' momentum carried over into the fourth set, as they gained early leads of 3-0 and 7-3. NSU then reeled off the next five points to go ahead 8-7 after kills by DiFrancesco and Neely. The Lady Demons never trailed again after that point, and really broke it open 20-15 after a 6-1 run. The streak was sparked by Neely, who contributed with big attacks and a block. NSU finished it off, 25-20, on a DiFrancesco spike.

 

Neely recorded a team-high five kills in the set and Tamara Hanna dug up four UL attacks.

 

“We dictated the tempo really well today and a lot of it had to do with our service returns,” said co-head coach Stephanie Hernesman. “Sometimes it's tough when you play well and lose, but this win will definitely add a lot of confidence to our team and will do nothing but good things for us heading into next weekend.”

 

The Lady Demons will look to win another when they play their home and conference opener on Thursday, hosting Central Arkansas at 7 p.m. at Prather Coliseum.