NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State volleyball team honored its athletes and commemorated on a successful 2011 season on Saturday at its annual awards banquet.

Freshmen Stacey DiFrancesco and Keelie Arneson were named Co-MVP after breaking several NSU records and earning spots on the All-Louisiana First-Team.

The team's Most Improved Player award belonged to redshirt freshman Caiti O'Connell. She earned the award not only for her impressive strides on the court, but also for her growth and advancement in strength and conditioning.

Junior Nicole Hajka earned both the Demon Sportswoman Award and was named team's Hardest Worker in strength and conditioning.

The Demon Sportswoman Award goes to the player that most exemplifies the NSU program culture. The recipient qualifies as a great person and teammate while always giving best effort in every phase of the program. 

All awards were voted on by the team.

DiFrancesco, a 5-10 outside-hitter from The Woodlands, Texas, became the first Lady Demon in program history to win Southland Conference Freshman of the Year as well as Second-Team All-SLC honors. She broke the school record for attacks in a season with 1390, and placed second in the record books and in the SLC in total kills with 424. She posted 14 double-doubles in 16 conference matches, and 19 double-doubles on the year. Additionally, she earned a spot on the Holiday Inn Express All-Tournament team with teammate Emily Sweet for superior performances at NSU's host tournament.

Arneson, the libero from Tomball, Texas and Klein Oak High School, broke the single-season digs record at NSU with 539 (4.69 d/s). She earned LSWA Co-Libero of the year after recording double-figures in digs in 29 of 30 matches. Arneson finished sixth in the SLC in digs on the season, and tallied at least 20 digs in 10 matches. She finished second in the team in assists (123), fourth in service aces (23), and was named to the Southern Mississippi All-Tournament team for her outstanding play in her first collegiate tournament of her career.

O'Connell, a 6-1 outside-hitter from Friendswood, Texas and Clear Brook High School, redshirted in 2011 in her first season and still has four years of eligibility left. The Lady Demons caught a glimpse of her abilities in the spring season, as she pounded 15 kills against Louisiana Tech and committed just three errors on April 4. In high school, she was named to the All-District 24-5A First-Team three times and was Special Mention All-Texas.

Hajka, a 5-11 outside-hitter from Austin, Texas and Vista Ridge High School, had a breakout year for NSU and finished with 146 kills in 2011, which was more than nine times the amount she had in 2010. She started 29 of 30 matches, and played in all 115 sets for the Lady Demons. Hajka ranked eighth in the Southland Conference in service aces, firing 20 against SLC foes. She crushed a career-high 15 kills against McNeese State on Oct. 15, and notched a career-best hitting percentage of .500 with eight kills against Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 10. Hajka also finished fourth on the team in blocks and rejected a personal-best seven against New Mexico State on Sept. 10.

“This is a time to celebrate a great beginning, but to also set the tone for what's to come in the future. We've raised the bar for our program and increased the expectations in our gym and locker room,” said coach Hugh Hernesman.  

Before the awards were distributed, the team looked back on a terrific 2011 season. NSU reached the Southland Conference Tournament for the first time in three years, and improved its conference win total by two matches from 2010. The Lady Demons historic trip to Central Arkansas on Sept. 15 was one highlight of the ceremony, when they snapped the Sugar Bears 31-game home winning-streak, the second longest active streak in the nation.

NSU posted an impressive 7-1 record against Louisiana opponents, with wins over UL-Lafayette, Louisiana Tech, McNeese State, Southeastern Louisiana (twice) and Nicholls State (twice). The Lady Demons also finished eighth in the SLC, two spots ahead of where the preseason polls predicted them.

“Moving forward, we add three very talented freshmen in Kaitlyn Brooks, Glynna Johnson and Amanda Kunz, all coming off great club seasons, along with Caiti for next season. This opens up a lot of options for us and creates a level of competition that this program hasn't seen in a long time,” Hernesman said. “Our staff feels as though we had as good of a spring as we've ever seen, and we really look forward to opening camp in early August after an off-season filled with hard work and improvement.”