NEW ORLEANS – Winning nine of its last ten, and three in a row last week, the Northwestern State volleyball team heads to the University of New Orleans for Southland Conference action Thursday evening beginning at seven o'clock at the Holmes Center.
 
Sitting second in the Southland, the Lady Demons are on their way to making history once again, claiming a 16-10 overall record, 12-2 in the SLC to mark the program's best 14-game route so far. The closest record came last season as NSU went 10-4 through 14 games.
 
Currently making a transition back to Division I competition, the Privateers (3-24, 0-14) were shutout by Abilene Christian and Southeastern last week. In their meeting earlier this season, NSU knocked down three quick sets to send UNO home scoreless.
 
For the pin hitters, freshman Ashley Elrod boasts 11 double-doubles this season, three of them from last week, while sitting 12^th in the Southland with 3.03 kills per set. Her .26 service aces per set average ranks 15^th. Caiti O'Connell and Stacey DiFrancesco follow just behind with 2.69 and 2.19 kills per set, respectively.
 
Four-time SLC Defensive Player of the Week, Keelie Arneson  ranks 19^th in the nation and leads the Southland with 5.25 digs per set, as junior Mackenzie Neely slapped nine of the team's 14 service aces last week, leading NSU and ranking fifth in the conference with .35 per set.
 
Glynna Johnson and Vanessa Coleman are on the block, putting up .88 and .61 blocks per set, respectively. Johnson holds ninth in the league with her average. The duo also lead NSU in attack percentage with .213 and .298 marks.
 
Setters Emily Johnson and Natalie Jaeger have collected 965 combined assists, dishing out 5.56 and 4.79 per set, respectively.
      
The Privateers are led by Marti Richmiller with 2.10 kills per set. Setter Celeste Ramirez sits 12th in the league with 5.68 assists per set, while Morgan Todd ranks seventh in digs with 4.29 per set. Senior Ariane Labrzycki knocks down .32 service aces to sit just behind Neely.    
 
Northwestern State will remain on the road for a Saturday afternoon match at Southeastern, slated to begin at 2:00 at University Center in Hammond. The final home game of the season will be held Tuesday evening at seven o'clock against Central Arkansas in Prather Coliseum.