NATCHITOCHES – Fifth-seeded Northwestern State utilized a strong defensive effort, limiting No. 4 Sam Houston State to a -.070 hitting percentage while sweeping the Bearkats (25-16, 25-17, 25-23) in the first round of the Southland Conference Tournament at Prather Coliseum on Friday.

"We went into the match knowing we were not going to be the offensive juggernaut some teams are," fifth-year co-head coach Hugh Hernesman said. "We knew we were going to have to defend one of the best.

"I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the career that Deveney (Wells-Gibson) has had at Sam Houston. She is probably one of the best this conference has ever seen. We blocked them early and we served really well early."

With the win, the Lady Demons (14-16) advance to the Saturday's semifinals where they will take on regular-season league champion Stephen F. Austin, who swept Nicholls on Friday afternoon. First serve is slated for 1:30 p.m.

NSU was led by Caiti O'Connell's who tallied eight kills on just 13 total attempts. The redshirt junior was a key factor in NSU's .198 hitting percentage. The Lady Demons hit an impressive .222 in the clinching set three, highlighted by six total kills between senior Mackenzie Neely and O'Connell.

Another key contributor for NSU was sophomore Natalie Jaeger, who led the squad with 12 digs while offering up 12 assists. Jaeger also added one service ace while consistently throwing the Bearkats (18-12) out of system while at the line.

"We kind of put her on an island defensively," Hernesman said. "We put her in a position to dig a lot of balls and she did that. When she got the opportunity, she made those digs. That opportunity today for Natalie was to make some big plays and stand out. She is an unsung player in our program. She's had a big year; she makes good decisions and plays with a lot of intensity."

The victory was NSU's first in three tries against Sam Houston this season after dropping both regular-season matches, including a back-and-forth five set match on Oct. 25 at Prather Coliseum.

"Each time around we had a good game plan against them," Hernesman said. "The first time we played them, we didn't execute it at all. The second time we played them, we executed it but struggled offensively, which was why we lost. Today, we really came together."