Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Northwestern State enjoyed better offensive production on Saturday's second day of the Razorback Invitational.

However, NSU was unable to close out pivotal sets in matches against Texas-Arlington and Southeast Missouri State and dropped a pair of 3-1 decisions.

The losses dropped Northwestern State to 2-8 on the season and extended its losing streak to six.

"We put ourselves in position to win against UTA and Southeast Missouri State but obviously need to learn how to finish those sets," first-year coach Sean Kiracofe said. "Some of that is skill execution and some of that is remembering responsibilities. We will watch video on ourselves to help drive those points home."
In the opener against Texas-Arlington, Northwestern State responded from a 25-16 first-set loss with a 25-16 win in the second set. NSU carried that momentum into the third set, building a 22-18 lead before the Mavericks (8-2) ran off four straight points to set up a topsy-turvy finish to the set.

The teams traded the next eight points of the match, tying at 23, 24, 25 and 26 before kills from Qiana Canete and Stacey Koch gave UTA the 2-1 lead after three sets.
The fourth set was tight throughout with neither team leading by more than two points. A kill by UTA's Kaitlyn Granger tied the set at 24 and UTA took a 25-24 lead on an NSU error.
Channing Burleson delivered her 12^th and final kill of the match to tie it at 25 before Canete delivered consecutive kills to give UTA the victory.
Burleson finished the match with 12 kills and a season-high 22 digs for her second double-double of the season.

"Channing took advantage of every opportunity she had against an aggressive defense and an athletic block," Kiracofe said. "She also carried that over to the back row where she read well and took adjustments from the bench to put her in position to be successful. That's a great sign for her and the team as we get closer to conference."

In the nightcap, Northwestern State dropped a 25-21 first set to Southeast Missouri State and dropped the second set, 25-22.
NSU returned from intermission to hang on for a 25-23 third-set victory that extended the match to a fourth set.

In the fourth set, SEMO (3-6) methodically built a lead and patiently answered every Northwestern State push with one of its own, closing the game with a 25-21 victory.

Lauren Agan paced the NSU offense with 16 kills while Glynna Johnson worked the middle for 10 kills and a robust .476 hitting percentage.

"Glynna could have scored on almost any ball she touched against SEMO," Kiracofe said. "We just couldn't get her the ball enough, but when we were able to get her involved, she took advantage of it. We should see a lot more of that in the future."

Burleson added a match-high 17 digs, her sixth double-figure dig match in the last seven matches.

Northwestern State returns to action Friday in the Lone Star Showdown at Texas Tech. NSU will face Washington State (1:30 p.m. Friday), Portland State (4:30 p.m. Friday) and Texas Tech (1:30 p.m. Saturday) in its final tournament of the regular season.