NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State volleyball program will host Sam Houston State at 6:30 p.m. on Friday in round one of the Southland Conference Tournament, which will take place for the first time in league history from Prather Coliseum.

The Lady Demons (13-16 overall, 10-6 SLC) enter the single-elimination, eight-team tournament as the No. 5 seed while the Bearkats (18-11, 11-5 SLC) are in at No. 4.

"Each year since I've been a freshman, I've been a part of a program that has made school history," senior outside hitter Stacey DiFrancesco said. "I'm very excited. This is one of my favorite times of the year so I'm really looking forward to this weekend."

As the architects in the resurgence of the program, fifth-year co-head coach Hugh Hernesman, along with wife and co-head coach Stephanie, have taken NSU to four consecutive Southland Tournaments including last season when the squad made an appearance in the championship match.

"It's been a long ride for us," fifth-year co-head coach Hugh Hernesman said. "We're excited that we're able to host in our first recruiting classes senior year.  They've put a lot into this program and put us on the map here.

"We're excited to be able to play in it. We're coming off two straight wins and we've got some positive momentum going. We really need to stay focused in doing the smaller things correct."

The visiting Bearkats, who will technically be the home team as the higher seed, have had their share of success against NSU, defeating the Lady Demons in both regular season matchups including a tightly contest five-set match at Prather on Oct. 25.

Sam Houston is led by senior Deveney Wells-Gibson who ranks first in the Southland in kills per set (4.81) and fourth in service aces per set (0.38).

"Sam is a little bit funny," Hernesman said. "Their offense a little bit nontraditional so it makes it a little challenging to prepare for. It starts with Deveney. She gets a lot of attention for her offense but she's a kid who blocks really well; she serves really well and she defends really well. She's one of the best players in our conference if not the best."

Northwestern State enters the tournament having built a reputation for its defensive play. The Lady Demons finished the regular season first in hitting percentage allowed (.150) and blocks per set (2.53) while taking third in digs per set (17.30).

"We've got to be very good on our assignments and know player strengths," Hernesman said of the defensive unit. "I think that's the challenge for us. On top of that, we need to match their competitive fire. They play with a lot of grit and determination. I think that's something that can make us better."

Friday's match between the two squads will be the day one finale of the tournament with the winner advancing to Saturday's 1:30 match against the winner of No. 1 seeded Stephen F. Austin and No. 8 Nicholls.

Single-day passes for Friday and Saturday, or the championship match Sunday, are available through the Northwestern State ticket office during normal business hours or the Prather Coliseum box office beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday.

One-day passes are $10 for adults and $5 for youth. All-tournament passes are $20 for adults and $10 for youth under the age of 18. Children under the age of 3 and students at Southland Conference institutions are free with a valid student ID.