FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Tournament season is a chance for college volleyball teams to figure out the optimum lineups in preparation for the conference season.
 
Weekend No. 3 of that process for Northwestern State arrives Friday when it heads to Arkansas for the Razorback Invitational. NSU opens tournament play by facing host Arkansas at 7 p.m. Friday in Barnhill Arena before squaring off with former Southland Conference foe Texas-Arlington (1 p.m.) and Southeast Missouri State (4:30 p.m.) on Saturday.
 
This marks the second straight tournament in which NSU (2-5) will open against a Southeastern Conference foe. Last week, Northwestern State opened the Bama Bash against Alabama, falling 3-0 to the Crimson Tide.
 
"Anytime you go to a tournament like this, you're excited to play the SEC school, or whoever it may be," first-year head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "To get that out of the way and be able to focus on the next two matches is a good way to look at it. We're their prime-time match Friday. It's going to be a great environment, fun to coach and play in."
 
Friday's match will be televised on SEC Network Plus, marking the third straight week NSU has appeared on the Southeastern Conference's digital media platform.
 
"It's a really big deal," Kiracofe said. "Networks like the SEC Network, the Big Ten Network, Longhorn Network, being able to put volleyball out there to be seen by the masses is great. It's great for our program to be seen by recruits, by our friends and family. It's a great progression in the sport."
 
Junior outside hitter Lauren Agan (68 kills) and senior Caiti O'Connell (48 kills) pace the Northwestern State offense, while senior middle blockers Glynna Johnson and Amanda Kunz have combined for 39 total blocks.
 
Agan's strong start included the second all-tournament selection of her career with her Magnolia Invitational honor joining the 2014 North Texas Invitational award from last season.
 
"There are a lot of players who left last season, and I'm trying to do what I can to replace them and do my job as a hitter, which is to get as many kills as possible," Agan said. "I'm going to try to stay focused and confident in myself and my abilities."
 
For the second time in three weekends, Northwestern State will face a former Southland Conference foe. After meeting up with Oral Roberts two weeks ago at Ole Miss, NSU will cross paths with Texas-Arlington, a much more longstanding SLC rival.
 
Saturday's meeting will be the 40^th all-time between the schools, but it is the first since 2012 when NSU scored a 3-2 victory in the UTA-hosted Hilton Invitational in Arlington, Texas.
 
O'Connell, Johnson and Kunz are the only players left from the 2012 NSU squad, but Kiracofe is familiar with the Mavericks.
 
"I've been able to see them in the spring and the fall the last few years," he said of his time at SMU. "I saw and played against Arkansas in Arkansas last year. Hopefully, that will pay off in a scout early, and we can go out and produce on the court."
 
NSU's final weekend opponent, Southeast Missouri State, is a complete unknown, as the teams never have met. It marks the second straight weekend NSU will face a first-time opponent, having wrapped up the Bama Bash by facing College of Charleston.
 7 p.m. – Northwestern State at Arkansas (SEC Network Plus)1 p.m. – Northwestern State vs. Texas-Arlington
4:30 p.m. – Northwestern State vs. Southeast Missouri State