Box Score WACO, Texas – Freshman Ashley Elrod registered a double-double to aid in the Northwestern State volleyball team's 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-23) victory over Appalachian State Saturday afternoon at the Baylor Invitational.
 
The Lady Demons (2-8 overall) went 1-2 on the weekend as the Mountaineers (6-4 overall) dropped all three decisions they were faced with.
 
"It was a quality win against a very good team. We knew we were going to be in for another battle after App went 5 with Colorado yesterday," said co-head coach Hugh Hernesman. "We're real pleased with both our defensive and offensive execution. We felt there were a couple things that we could do defensively to put us in a position to sustain some runs and those adjustments don't mean much unless the players execute them. Our focus level was very high and very consistent."
 
NSU trailed App State in the first set before going on a four point run, including back-to-back block assists from Mackenzie Neely and Glynna Johnson and one-of-four service aces from Elrod, to take a 14-12 lead. The Lady Demons went on an eventual 8-0 run to end the set.
 
NSU jumped ahead early in the second set, and eventually allowed the Mountaineers to battle back and tie the set at 21. Despite the score, the Lady Demons held on strong and came away with the 25-22 win.
 
The third set was tight with both teams trading leads, turning into an eventual 20-20 tie, but NSU managed to push through and earn its second win of the season.
 
Elrod dug up 10 App State attacks while knocking down 15 kills on the day, notching a .300 attack percentage. Stacey DiFrancesco just missed the double-double with nine kills and 12 digs. The 5-10 outside hitter also put up one block and one assist.
 
Setter Natalie Jaeger tied her career-high of 21 assists in the win while libero Keelie Arneson surpassed her season-best digs record (20 against New Mexico) with 23 on the day, earning her a sport on the invitational all-tournament team.  
 
"While Keelie had another great performance, we were very happy to see both Stacey and Ashley combine for almost as many digs in mid-back," said Hernesman, "Ashely had a really nice all-around game but her point scoring ability was crucial at crucial times, while the rest of our offense was pretty balanced - which is a credit to both Natalie and Emily. It was good to see Stacey be Stacey again, as she's been gutting out some physical ailments."
 
Northwestern State will make its home debut on Tuesday at seven o'clock against Southern Mississippi at Prather Coliseum.