NATCHITOCHES – Stacey DiFrancesco and Caiti O'Connell combined for 33 kills as the Northwestern State volleyball team took down Southeastern Louisiana 3-1 on Thursday night in Prather Coliseum.
 
The 25-18, 25-23, 24-26, 25-19 win improved NSU's record to 13-8 overall and 5-4 in Southland Conference play while the Lady Lions dropped to 6-12, 1-7.
 
“I think one of our deficiencies last week was the ability to kill the ball,” said NSU co-head coach Hugh Hernesman. “We focused on being more aggressive this week and having four girls in double-figures with 58 kills is great for us.”
 
DiFrancesco landed a game-high 17 kills and dug up 10 balls for her ninth double-double of the year. She also tacked on two blocks and one service ace for the Lady Demons. O'Connell hammered down 16 kills.
 
Glynna Johnson led the team in hitting percentage at .550 after putting down 12 kills while only committing one error.
 
“I thought that Glynna did a really good job,” said Hernesman. “There were times that Southeastern knew she was getting the ball and she was still able to get it past the block and hit with authority. She was much better in transition and she continues to grow.”
 
Keelie Arneson played phenomenal defense for Northwestern State, collecting a career-high 35 digs while also serving up two aces.
 
“Keelie definitely impacted the match,” said Hernesman. “When things get chaotic she does a great job of cleaning up the mess. On top of her 35 digs and amazing defense she also had a great passing game. She struggled a little last week in serve receive but I could tell in the first set that she was back on track.”
 
The first set started off competitive with four ties and one lead change until a kill by O'Connell sparked a 5-0 NSU run, putting the score at 12-6. The Lady Demons were able to maintain their momentum, completing two additional 4-0 runs and winning the set 25-18.
 
The second set was a back and forth battle that saw 11 ties and 10 lead changes. An O'Connell kill late in the game put the score at 19-18 and gave NSU the lead. The Lady Demons led through the remainder of the set, winning 25-23.
 
It was another nail-biter in the third set with three ties occurring by the 3-3 mark. Southeastern ran out to an 8-3 lead after a DiFrancesco attack error led to five unanswered Lady Lion points. NSU came back with a 5-0 streak of their own and pulled ahead as the scoreboard read 11-10.
 
Both teams kept it close for the rest of the set but SLU came out on top, winning 26-24.
 
Northwestern State came out on a roll in the fourth set, gaining an early 7-1 advantage. The Lady Lions fought back, knotting up the game at 10-10. NSU answered with five straight points and went up 15-10. NSU stayed on pace and never trailed in the set, pulling out a 25-19 win.
 
“We are going to come in and do some scouting on Nicholls tomorrow,” said Hernesman. “ I think the biggest thing is to not get overly confident. I think we can feel good about what we did but there are still some things we need to work on.”
 
The Lady Demons return to Prather Coliseum on Saturday afternoon to go up against Nicholls State. The match is slated to begin at two o'clock.