NATCHITOCHES – It was a complete team effort as the Northwestern State volleyball team took down top-ranked Sam Houston State in a 3-0 sweep on Tuesday night in Prather Coliseum.
 
The 25-21, 25-21, 25-22 victory gives the Lady Demons (20-8 overall, 12-4 Southland Conference) their first 20-win season since 1975 and improves their winning streak to eight straight matches, another program best.
 
Sam Houston State moves to 18-10 overall and 13-3 in Southland play.
 
“I've been telling people for a few weeks now that if we can get everyone going at the same time that we could be a pretty dangerous team and that is what happened tonight,” said NSU co-head coach Hugh Hernesman. “We executed the game plan about as close to perfection as possible and beat a remarkable team.
 
“Sam Houston is not sitting at the top of the conference for nothing. Wells-Gibson is probably the best player in the league right now so for us to beat a team like that took a complete team effort.”
 
Stacey DiFrancesco led the Lady Demons in kills with 12 while also recording three aces and seven digs.
 
Caiti O'Connell, Mackenzie Neely and Glynna Johnson also performed well, landing nine, eight and six kills, respectively.
 
Emily Sweet fueled NSU's offense, setting up 35 assists.
 
“Sam Houston coming into the match was, statistically, the best defensive team as far as opponent hitting percentage,” said Hernesman. “For us to hit .198 was great because I think teams usually hit about .120 against them and that is not just hitters, it takes great distribution from the setter. Sweet puts the ball in a window where our hitters can really score.”
 
Keelie Arneson and Vanessa Coleman set the pace on defense. Arneson collected 16 digs while Coleman denied five attacks.
 
“Vanessa's strength is that she knows our game plan very well and she executed the blocking calls and assignments with precision,” said Hernesman. “Tonight was an example of her getting the opportunity to do what she was trained and it worked out very well for us.
 
“Keelie just really read their attacks well and she is so fast. You have got to be a tremendous athlete to get behind some of those balls and she is just unbelievable.”
 
Nicole Hajka also had a great night for NSU, serving up two aces.

“Nicole gave us a great spark from the service line again tonight,” said Hernesman. “She took them out of system and had two aces but more importantly she put the pressure on them.”
 
The first set was back and forth, totaling 11 ties and six lead changes. The Bearkats came out hot, taking a 6-4 lead early one. NSU answered with a 4-0 streak to go up 8-6.
 
The Lady Demons were able to hold onto the lead until a kill by SHSU's Kendall Cleveland put the Bearkats up 13-12. NSU fought back again, registering four more unanswered points as the scoreboard read 17-16.
 
Sam Houston tried to stay close but could not regain the momentum as the Lady Demons took the first set 25-21.
 
NSU came out to a 4-1 start in the second set. The Bearkats took the lead after a kill by Kaylee Hawkins sparked a 3-0 run. The Lady Demons completed a 4-0 run of their own to put the score at 8-5.
 
Northwestern State did not trail again, winning the set 25-21.
 
The Lady Demons looked determined in the final set as they ran out to an early 7-4 lead but Sam Houston would not go easily as they put up four answered points to take the lead at the 8-7 mark.
 
NSU quickly took the lead back after an SHSU attack error put the score at 9-8. The Lady Demons held on for the remainder of the game, taking the set 25-22.
 
Northwestern State goes on the road for its final two matches of the regular season. The Lady Demons face conference powerhouse Central Arkansas on Thursday and head to Oral Roberts for Saturday's match.