NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State volleyball team hosts Southland Conference rival Stephen F. Austin on Saturday at two o'clock at Prather Coliseum.
 
It's the 51st meeting of the two teams since they began the tradition in 1984. The Ladyjacks (10-5 overall, 2-0 SLC) have controlled the outcome of 50 matches, posting a 49-1 record against the Lady Demons (6-8, 2-0). NSU came out on top of a 3-0 decision for the first time in the 2012 season as it won its seventh match in a row, also marking the longest win-streak for the program since the 1992 season.
 
"It's developing into a really good rivalry with Stephen F. Austin," said fourth year co-head coach Hugh Hernesman. "I felt like once Stephanie and I arrived it was a little bit one-sided, but every time we played them we chipped away a little bit more."
 
The Lady Demons took a break in their Southland schedule on Tuesday night to defeat non-conference rival Louisiana Tech 3-2, giving them their fifth win in a row. SFA fell to North Texas 3-0 Wednesday evening in Denton, Texas, putting an end to a four-game win streak.
 
Redshirt sophomore Caiti O'Connell leads the Lady Demons with 3.00 kills per set and 20 service aces. The Friendswood, Texas, native put up her first double-double of the season against the Lady Techsters, knocking down a match-high 17 kills and 11 digs. Freshman Ashley Elrod sits just behind O'Connell with 2.79 kills per set and 15 service aces. O'Connell and Elrod rank 10^th and 14^th in kills in the Southland, respectively.
 
Setter Emily Johnson has continually put up career-highs throughout the season, dishing out 48 assists Tuesday night to aid in NSU's victory. Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week Keelie Arneson ranks second in the SLC digs column at the moment with 4.92 digs per set, trailing SFA's O.J. Olson's 4.93 digs per set.
 
Junior Jill Ivy leads the Ladyjacks with3.16 kills per set and a .259 attack percentage, marking her 11^th in the conference in hitting percentage. Ivy holds down ninth in the league in kills, just ahead of O'Connell.
 
Freshman Justice Walker sits third in the league with a .371 hitting percentage, knocking down 115 kills. Walker also puts up 0.88 blocks per set to rank just ahead of Amanda Kunz and Glynna Johnson with 0.82 and 0.76 blocks per set, respectively.
 
"They're a very talented team with tremendous hitters and tremendous ball control," said Hernesman. "They're very balanced and physical, so I'm hoping that with the preseason schedule that we played will have us prepared for matches like this."
 
The Lady Demons will hit the road next week as they travel to Conway, Ark. to face last year's Southland Conference tournament champion Central Arkansas on Thursday at 7:00 before heading to Tulsa, Okla. for a Saturday afternoon match with Oral Roberts at two o'clock.