NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State volleyball team must have been serious about not wanting to let the regular season end.
 
For the second straight match, NSU endured a five-set marathon. This time it was NSU fighting back to force a fifth set after falling behind.
 
Unlike its most recent five-set affair, NSU came out on the short end, falling 3-2 to Abilene Christian on Saturday in its 2015 regular-season finale at Prather Coliseum.
 
"They came out and they fought after the split," first-year head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "I'm happy about that, and they should be happy about that. We played great, statistically, across the board. Just a few points here and there (made the difference)."
 
Northwestern State (7-22, 5-11 Southland Conference) said goodbye to three seniors after the match. All three left with positive individual performances as each finished with double-figure kill numbers.
 
Caiti O'Connell set a season high in kills for the second straight match, tallying 20 while hitting .395, Glynna Johnson added 18 kills in 36 attempts with a .361 hitting percentage and Amanda Kunz added 10 kills.
 
Johnson's efficiency allowed her to finish the season with a .377 hitting percentage, the top mark in program history. Shannon Puder set the prior mark of .330 in 2001.
 
"They were fantastic," Kiracofe said of the seniors. "We had some slow starts at the beginning, but they came back, fought and did not want to go out without trying to take back the match. They accomplished that."
 
In a match punctuated by long rallies, Abilene Christian (9-20,9-7) took the first game in extra points, 28-25, before holding off an NSU rally in the second game, 25-22.
 
After intermission, Northwestern State used a set-clinching ace by Bailey Martin to grab a 25-23 third-set victory, setting the stage for a stress-free 25-16 win in the fourth set.
 
ACU looked poised to do the same in the decisive fifth set, leading 11-6 before Northwestern State put together another rally.
 
Behind Martin's serving, NSU turned a 12-8 deficit into a 13-12 lead and forced an ACU timeout.
 
The Wildcats tied the final set at 13 on one of Jennifer Loerch's match-high 21 kills, setting in motion a drawn-out ending.
 
The teams traded the next eight points before ACU took an 18-17 lead on a Loerch kill.
 
NSU responded with a Reagan Rogers kill to even the match at 18. Loerch followed with her final kill before NSU was called for a ball-handling error, allowing ACU to take the five-set victory.
 
Martin turned in a season-best 26 digs, leading five NSU players in double figures in that category. Punctuating a match full of long rallies, Lauren Agan (18), Kylie Spencer (17), Rogers (15) and Natalie Jaeger (13) all hit double-figure dig totals.
 
Jaeger (56 assists) and Agan (10 kills) produced double doubles while Jaeger (4), Martin (3) and Rogers (2) all had multiple service aces.
 
"Wining those long rallies is big for momentum," Kiracofe said. "It's hard to take if you feel like you're battling for a point and lose it. It's just as uplifting when you win them. I hope it was entertaining for the fans. Those are fun to play in. You just hope you get more than you lose."