NATCHITOCHES – Following a disappointing road loss at Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday night, Northwestern State volleyball will look to get back on track against Lamar on Thursday evening at 7 o'clock from Prather Coliseum.

Thursday's match will be the first of three straight at home for the Lady Demons at a venue that the squad has posted an impressive 21-3 record at dating back to the 2012 season.

"We take a lot of pride in protecting our home court and we feel very comfortable here," fifth-year co-head coach Hugh Hernesman said. "It's a place we train every day. I believe that's part of it. Prather Coliseum is also a very unique setting and sometimes a tough one to get used to for opposing teams. A lot of conference schools play in venues that are a little smaller or have different depths, so that can pose a challenge in terms of adjusting to new surroundings."

NSU leads the Southland Conference in defense, boasting the league's top ranking in opponent hitting percentage (.147), blocks pet set (2.56), and digs per set (18.07). Even in defeat to the rival Ladyjacks on Tuesday night, NSU was able to hold SFA to its lowest attack percentage on the conference season at .171.

The squad will be tested again against Lamar (3-16, 3-4 SLC), a squad that has started coming together in league play behind some of the conference's top-flight offensive players and one the country's leading blockers in sophomore Chelsea Grant.

Grant is the league-leader and currently tied for 34^th nationally – six spots ahead of NSU's Glynna Johnson – with 1.32 blocks per set.

"Chelsea is a fun player to watch," Hernesman said. "Great length. Great speed. Really has an instinct for the ball as a blocker. She is certainly someone that you've got to account for when devising an offensive game plan and approach."

Offensively, the Cardinals are led by junior Courtney Moore who ranks second in the Southland at a .313 hitting percentage. Alongside Moore is sophomore Ashley Ellis who ranks fourth in assists per set (10.08) and freshman Amethyst Hollowell who is third in the league with 0.39 service aces per set.

"Lamar and us have very similar team numbers in terms of offense and defense," Hernesman said. " They've got two very physical middles and an outside that is a high volume, high kill player that's got a big arm.  We've got a quick turnaround from the SFA match, so today will be spent working specifically on how we're going to approach the strengths they present."

NSU is led by senior Mackenzie Neely who has tallied a whopping 267.5 points on the season including 222 kills for a 2.81 kills per set average. Following Neely is redshirt junior Caiti O'Connell at 2.10 kills per set and senior Stacey DiFrancesco's average of 1.93.

Defensively, sophomore Bailey Martin has become a name to watch amongst the league's liberos, ranking third with 5.08 digs per set. Middle blocker Glynna Johnson leads the way with 112 total blocks and a 1.30 average per set followed by junior middle blocker Amanda Kunz at 48 for a 0.98 average and senior middle blocker Vanessa Coleman's 48 for a 0.83 average.

Thursday's match will be the 38^th all-time between the two programs with Lamar holding a 26-11 advantage since the series began in 1996. NSU has claimed the last three series matchups dating back to the beginning of the 2012 season.