ABILENE, Texas – Northwestern State volleyball concluded its regular season on Saturday with a come from behind 3-2 win (19-25, 25-19, 18-25, 26-24, 15-12) over Abilene Christian, in the process, locking up the fifth seed in the Southland Conference Tournament which begins next Friday at Prather Coliseum.

"First of all, I thought ACU played a great match," fifth-year co-head coach Hugh Hernesman said. "They stressed us in a number of ways and had us out of sync for a good portion of the match. Fortunately, for us, we had a few strong performers and some very crucial plays by others."

In the win, senior Stacey DiFrancesco became NSU's all-time kills leader totaling 1,293 in her decorated career. She finished with seven in the win, surpassing Tiffany Cronin (1994-97) on her sixth of the day.

"I couldn't be happier for Stacey," Hernesman said. "It's an incredible accomplishment and one she and her teammates should be proud of. She has been surrounded by some great teammates who have helped her along the way and she'll be the first to give them credit.

"Stacey will certainly go down as one of the best this school has ever produced and Stephanie (Hernesman) and I are extremely happy to have been a part of helping her grow."

NSU ends the regular season at 13-16 overall and 10-6 in the Southland Conference while Abilene Christian concludes its campaign at 6-24 and 4-12 in league play.
In the winner-take-all fifth set, senior Mackenzie Neely came up big accounting for three NSU points on three kills as the Lady Demons maintained a 7-4 advantage. Shortly later, three straight Wildcat points gave ACU the advantage at 9-8 and forced a NSU timeout.

NSU took the lead back at 12-11 on an ACU error. A clutch DiFrancesco and Vanessa Coleman block followed by another Wildcat error put NSU up 14-12 at match point. As she's done so many times before, senior Emily Johnson stepped up to the service line and delivered an ace, this time giving NSU the set, 15-12 and the match.

Neely led the way with 16 kills followed by O'Connell and Glynna Johnson who each added 12. Johnson also added an impressive seven total blocks. Setter Emily Johnson tallied 28 assists while Bailey Martin finished with 24 digs.

"Glynna Johnson was solid throughout and if it weren't for her, I don't think we win the match," Hernesman said. "Her presence at the net was vital both offensively and as a blocker. Very proud of how she stepped up when we needed her.

"EJ (Emily Johnson) made a lot of really good decisions, defended like she always does and ripped off the last ace to finish the match."

Down 15-10 in set one, NSU rattled off four straight points as the two squads went toe to toe down the stretch. A Glynna Johnson kill brought the Wildcat lead to within one at 17-16 but Abilene Christian finished strong scoring the last four points to take set one, 25-19.

The Lady Demons rebounded in the second set jumping out to a 4-1 lead early. NSU extended its lead to five at 15-10 on a Mackenzie Neely kill. A Caiti O'Connell put NSU up 19-12 and soon thereafter, the Lady Demons flipped the first set score, taking it 25-19 and knotting the match at one.

The back-and-forth continued in the third set. The Wildcat lead was just one at 14-13 before four straight ACU points gave the home team all it needed. The NSU deficit reached seven at 21-14 and the Wildcats closed it out at 25-18.

Facing a must-have set four, NSU jumped out to a four point lead at 12-8 on a block by Aubrey Davis and and Johnson. Up 20-16, the Wildcats tallied five straight points to take a 21-20 advtange. The two remained tied at 22-22, 23-23 then 24-24 before NSU captured the sets' final two points on an O'Connell kill and Davis service ace.