HOUSTON – Northwestern State utilized a resilient defensive effort and a fast set three start to sweep Houston Baptist (26-24, 25-23, 25-23) in Southland Conference play from the Huskies' Sharp Gym on Thursday night.

"I thought we did a good job of grinding out big points when we needed them," fifth-year co-head coach Hugh Hernesman said. "One of the things I told the team afterwards is that we did a nice job of point scoring when our serve receive was off. That's going to be crucial as we move forward – to be able to score in and out of the system."

NSU (7-11, 4-1 SLC) held HBU (7-11, 2-2 SLC) to a .138 hitting percentage thanks in part to seven total blocks from Amanda Kunz and another four from Glynna Johnson. Mackenzie Neely and Caiti O'Connell each added three in the win.

"We did a nice job of holding a good offensive team that runs it pretty fast to a low efficiency," Hernesman said. "Our defense was really the highlight."

Offensively, Stacey DiFrancesco tallied her highest hitting percentage of the season at .412 highlighted by eight kills on 17 total attacks while adding 11 digs defensively.

"I am real proud of the match we got out of Stacey," Hernesman said. "She played a low error game and defended real well with a lot of crucial digs in big spots."

The Lady Demons showcased their tenacity early, coming back from a late 21-18 deficit in set one to score four straight points and take a 22-21 lead. With the Huskies' sitting at set point, leading 24-23, NSU again rallied, scoring two straight points behind a DiFrancesco kill and key block by Kunz and O'Connell to close it out.

In set two, it was NSU who staked claim to the early lead, maintaining a 15-11 advantage behind a barrage of kills from Ashley Elrod, O'Connell, and Neely. The Huskies put forth a comeback of their own, taking a 21-20 lead to force a NSU timeout. Big blocks late from Kunz and Neely along with a Kunz kill helped NSU take the set 25-23 and sit on the doorstep of the squad's first winning sweep since Sept. 6 against Southern.

NSU's momentum carried over into set three and the Lady Demons found themselves leading 10-2 early behind kills from Emily Johnson, Glynna Johnson, Neely and DiFrancesco. However, HBU mounted a comeback, tying the set after five straight points at 13-13. Key kills from Neely and O'Connell helped push the NSU lead back out to 18-14, in the process forcing a Huskies' timeout.

Despite HBU's best efforts, NSU maintained its lead with big plays by way of consecutive O'Connell and Kunz kills followed shortly later by a Glynna Johnson and Neely block. After the Huskies scored two consecutive points to bring the set within one, NSU ended it on a huge kill from Neely, 25-23.

Bailey Martin played a big role in the Lady Demons' defensive shutdown, capturing 19 digs on the day. Neely finished with 13 kills followed by DiFrancesco's eight and O'Connell's five. Madison Walford finished with 15 assists followed by Emily Johnson's 14.

NSU heads to Corpus Christi, Texas immediately following the game with the squad readying to face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday at 1 o'clock.