NACOGDOCHES, Texas – After capturing weekend wins over New Orleans and Southeastern Louisiana at home, the Northwestern State volleyball team will make the short trek across the Texas state line to play Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. from Shelton Gym.

The Ladyjacks (15-7, 8-0 Southland Conference) sit one spot ahead of NSU (9-12, 6-2 SLC) in the league standings and are one of two squads – alongside Central Arkansas – to remain undefeated in Southland play.

"They are a very balanced and physical team," fifth-year co-head coach Hugh Hernesman said. "There's a reason they're 8-0 right now. They defend real well and have a very talented libero. It will present some obvious issues with just the balance they have but for everyone we've played, there's always an answer to something."

The match will pit one of the league's premier offenses in SFA against NSU's tenacious defense. The Ladyjacks ranks first in the conference with 13.51 kills per set and 12.82 assists per set as well as second with a .227 hitting percentage.

"They have a lot of options," Hernesman said. "Their setter Paige (Holland) does a real good job moving the ball around and finding the right players in the right situations. They control the ball well. For as good as their offense is, their defense is pretty darn good too."

SFA is led by sophomore Justice Walker who is first in the conference at a .330 hitting percentage while senior teammate Jill Ivy has raked in 3.64 kills per set to claim sixth in league standings. Not to be outdone, junior libero OJ Olson comes in second at 5.17 digs per set – narrowly ahead of NSU sophomore Bailey Martin's 5.14 in third.

The Lady Demons currently rank first in all three defensive categories including opponent hitting percentage (.146), blocks per set (2.55) and digs per set (18.14).

Lady Demons' junior middle blocker Glynna Johnson is second in the Southland with 1.30 blocks per set and first with a grand total of 108. Offensively, senior Mackenzie Neely leads NSU with 2.87 kills per set and senior setter Emily Johnson has posted 4.79 assists per set.

Stephen F. Austin holds a 52-9 stranglehold in the all-time series, although Northwestern State has taken three of the last four against the Ladyjacks including sweeping the season series for the first time in program history one year ago.

The week will be the busiest in recent memory for NSU boasting three matches over the course of five days including hosting Lamar on Thursday and Sam Houston State on Saturday.

"It's difficult because you've got to prepare for a different team every time," Hernesman said. "What we really have to draw upon is our experience with similar types of teams and similar types of offenses and strengths. So when we go into the match on Thursday against Lamar, we can say, remember when played so and so whether it's Auburn or Mizzou where we can draw upon that.

"It's not a perfect science but we do have a lot of experience against different types of offenses and players that we can draw upon that allows us to make a quicker adjustment or preparation in such a short week."