NATCHITOCHES – Entering the second weekend of play, the Northwestern State volleyball team will head to the Sawyer Camillo Invitational in Lafayette where the squad will square off with Southern Mississippi (3-1) on Friday at 12 o'clock followed by matches against Southern (1-3) on Saturday at 9 a.m. and versus host Louisiana-Lafayette (3-0) at 5 p.m.

NSU is coming off a momentous weekend at the North Texas Invitational, highlighted by ending No. 15 Missouri's 35-game regular season win streak in a sweep on Saturday. The win was the program's first-ever over a ranked opponent and the first for a NSU team since the Demon baseball program defeated No. 21 LSU 5-2 in Baton Rouge on April 12, 2011.

"For our program and our players, they deserve so much credit for staying steady throughout that match," fifth-year head coach Hugh Hernesman said. "Mizzou is a great team; obviously defending SEC champs and undefeated last year during the regular season. We've said that good volleyball knows no levels and this is really the statement to that. I thought we played really well."

Overall, NSU posted a 2-1 record with the other win coming in the form of a sweep against Mississippi Valley State and the only loss coming in the five-set season opener against North Texas.

"It was good for us to get out there playing different people and get those first week jitters out," Hernesman said. "Even our returners and our seniors were a little nervous to start on Friday so it was exciting for us to get the season started. I think we started it right but on the flip side, we haven't accomplished anything yet other than that we've shown we can play at a high level. The challenge is to continue doing that."

Heading into another weekend of facing quality competition, Hernesman contends the focus is still on his team while acknowledging the success the upcoming trio of opponents has had.

"It's going to be about us doing what we do well," Hernesman said. "ULL had a real nice weekend beating Rice who I think is a real strong team this year so that will be a challenge. There gym is a unique place and we've got a good strong rivalry with them so that will be fun."

The squad will open up against Southern Mississippi on Friday, an opponent that started out hot at 3-0 before dropping its last match against Troy.

"We've played Southern Miss a few times over the last few years so I think they're doing a good job building that program up and they're getting better and better each year," Hernesman said. "This year, it's going to be another challenge. They've got an outside that kills it at a real high rate so we've got to figure out a way to limit her success."
 
NSU will also take on a Southern squad who spent last weekend at the Alabama State Tournament, going 1-3 with its lone win coming against South Carolina State.

"We don't know a whole lot about Southern yet," Hernesman said. "Again, this will be another opportunity for us to go out there and polish up a little bit."

Despite playing in just two of the team's three opening weekend matches, senior Mackenzie Neely leads all NSU players with 32.5 points, 4.06 points/set and 3.25 kills/set.

"I think it was great for us to finally get out on the court," Neely said. "We were tired of going against each other in practice. We were ready. I think a lot of teams underestimate us because they've never heard of us before and so they don't take us seriously so we play with a chip on our shoulder and we were ready to get out there and show those teams what we're capable of doing."

Senior Keelie Arneson, who was named the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week, heads into the weekend with an impressive 59 digs and nine assists. Senior Stacey DiFrancesco added 24.5 points of her own along with 17 kills while sophomore Lauren Agan led the team with 29 kills and ranks second in points with 31.

Northwestern State is 5-12 all-time against Southern Mississippi; 15-15 all-time versus Southern and 18-16 against Louisiana-Lafayette.

Following the tournament, NSU will continue its month long road trip with action at the Maroon Classic from Starkville, Miss.