NATCHITOCHES – Yes, the Northwestern State volleyball team still knows how to get to Prather Coliseum.
 
After nearly a month on the road, Northwestern State returns home Thursday night to face Incarnate Word in a Southland Conference match. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
 
NSU (6-21, 4-10) and UIW (7-16, 5-9) already have met with the Cardinals hanging on for a 3-2 victory in San Antonio on Oct. 3.
 
"I love playing somebody for the second time," said first-year head coach Sean Kiracofe, whose team plays at home for the first time since sweeping Stephen F. Austin on Oct. 13.
 
"You're either figuring out how to beat them again or seeing what you did in the first match and making adjustments to try to beat them. I think that's great. If it was a perfect world, we would have a double round-robin with everybody, but because of the unbalanced number of teams, you don't get to do that."
 
In the teams' first matchup of the season, Northwestern State fell behind 2-0 before rattling off wins in the third and fourth sets to force a decisive fifth set.
 
UIW held off a furious NSU rally in the fifth set, clinching with a 15-13 victory.
 
The flow of the match turned when Northwestern State's soccer team, which was in town to play UIW the next day, showed up at the Convocation Center, bringing a pro-NSU feel to the crowd.
 
"They helped us out a lot to start that comeback," Kiracofe said. "We started out really flat, and we made some changes. They went out there and fought. To have our soccer team there was fantastic. That helped a lot."
 
Playing in front of an energized crowd helped NSU nearly pull off the stunning comeback victory. Similarly, playing at home has been a boon to NSU, which has posted three of its six wins at Prather Coliseum.
 
"Any fan support, whether its from the soccer team or whoever, will be great," Kiracofe said.
 
Thursday's match also serves as Professors Appreciation Day. Each player will honor one of their favorite professors at the match.
 
After Thursday's match, Northwestern State closes out its regular season by hosting Abilene Christian at 2 p.m. Saturday, which will include ceremonies honoring seniors Glynna Johnson, Amanda Kunz and Caiti O'Connell.