NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Nicole Hajka hit at a career-best .500 mark and Emily Sweet recorded her second double-double of the season, but Northwestern State would fall to Stephen F. Austin – 25-23, 25-18 and 25-22 in the noisy Shelton Gym.

 

NSU (3-11, 0-2) had to go up against one of the best performances of the season from Stephen F. Austin (7-8, 1-1), who committed just one error in the first set, and four in the second.

 

“SFA has a nice team that runs a good-tempo offense. It handled the ball really well and put us in tough spots with its consistent attacking. SFA is really balanced with big arms on the outside and its middle blockers are solid as well,” said co-head coach Hugh Hernesman.

 

Hajka's .500 percentage came off five kills on 10 attacks for the Lady Demons, and Sweet registered 28 assists, 10 digs and four blocks.

 

“I would have liked to have gotten Nicole the ball more frequently, but our ball control wasn't quite where we wanted it to be,” Hernesman said. “We are in a little bit of a rut with our predictable patterns right now, and we need to be able to change that on the fly to get her more attacks.

 

“Sweet is just so solid as a volleyball player. She set a great match for us, and we really like what she does defensively. She had a lot of court to dig with the blocking scheme we were running, and she always does very well in those situations and is comfortable in doing that,” Hernesman added.

 

Stacey DiFrancesco posted a team-high 12 kills for NSU and Kelly Jimenez added on with seven.

 

“Stacey attacked well for us tonight and is continuing to stay aggressive,” Hernesman said. “I also thought Kelly played well. She was a little bit passive last weekend, but she too stayed aggressive for us and is definitely stepping up her game.”

 

Vanessa Coleman and Mackenzie Neely also contributed offensively with 7 and 6 kills, respectively. Neely also had four blocks in the contest, while Coleman had three. NSU out-blocked SFA, 7-6.

 

Defensively, Keelie Arneson had another strong performance, digging up a game-high 22 attacks and also pitched in five assists. Jessica Guttierrez contributed with six digs as well.

 

Coleman got things started for NSU in the first set with a couple early kills, and a Neely spike tied it 8-8. Though, big attacks from SFA's outside hitters spurted an 8-3 run to give the Ladyjacks the lead, 16-11. The Lady Demons then went on a small run after Neely and Jimenez finished on attacks to cut the deficit to 18-15, but SFA was able to push the lead back up to 21-16 after a couple NSU miscues.

 

The Lady Demons would not go away though, as they cut the lead down to 23-21 after a block assist by Neely/Sweet and a Sweet ace. After SFA called timeout, the Ladyjacks took the next point to go up 24-21, and would finish it 25-23 after NSU saved a couple of set points.

 

The Lady Demons had a balanced attack in the first set, with DiFrancesco, Neely and Coleman all contributing with four kills each. Keelie Arneson recorded eight digs defensively. NSU only committed three errors in the set, but seven kills from SFA's Katzy Randall was too much. NSU still hit well in the set, attacking at a .324 percentage, and Coleman hit at a .667 mark.

 

SFA's outstanding attack continued in the second set, as it jumped out to early leads of 12-7 and 15-8. The Lady Demons then took three straight with Arneson serving to make it 15-11, but the Ladyjacks kept their foot on the pedal to go back up 21-11 after a six-point streak. Though, NSU kept fighting the whole way, reeling off the next four points after a Hajka kill to cut the lead to 21-15 – but it wasn't enough, as SFA went on to take the set 25-18.

 

DiFrancesco led the way for the Lady Demons in the second, tallying three kills and an ace. Coleman tacked on another kill and a block and was hitting at a .625 mark through two sets, while Hajka's three kills had her hitting at a .600 percentage.

 

NSU led 3-1 to start the third set, but the Ladyjack's would go on a run to take the lead, 9-5. The Lady Demons then used a pair of kills from DiFrancesco to come back and trail just 11-12, and then led 14-13 after a Neely spike. A Hajka attack kept the Lady Demons ahead, 15-14, but SFA would take the next six points to go regain control at 20-15.

 

NSU hung in there though, and after a block assist by Neely/Sweet and a DiFrancesco kill, SFA's lead was down to just 22-20 with Arneson serving. The Lady Demons later cut the lead to 23-22 with Sweet serving, but SFA was able to take the next two points and win it, 25-22.

 

Up next, the Lady Demons will look to bounce back when they travel to Huntsville, Texas to play at Sam Houston State on Saturday at 2.