NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State volleyball team answered coach Sean Kiracofe's challenge Saturday afternoon.
 
More specifically, NSU's middle blockers took it to heart.
 
Kourtney Seaton and Madeline Drake combined for 23 kills and seven total blocks, helping Northwestern State return to the win column with a 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-19, 25-20) Southland Conference victory against Incarnate Word at Prather Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
 
"At times during the match we struggled to maintain some consistency, but we were able to close it out in four, and that's good," second-year coach Sean Kiracofe said. "I'm very happy to see that. We talked about having difficult losses and turning around and win the next ones to get us going in the right direction. To continue do to that in conference was very important."
 
NSU (9-11, 4-1) pulled away late in the first set before an odd confluence of events marked a second-set loss. Included were an illegal service by UIW (5-11, 1-3) and an overturned call that benefited the Lady Demons but also stifled their momentum.
 
Northwestern State responded with late pushes in the third and fourth sets to clinch the match two days after its three-match win streak was snapped by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
"When we went into the locker room after the second set, we talked about how we can't stay on cruise control against any team at any point in the game, even when things get crazy," said senior setter Natalie Jaeger, who handed out 46 assists, her third-highest four-set total of the season.
 
"We really have to go out and keep pushing no matter what. We did that, which was good to see."
 
A strong start by Lauren Agan (11 kills, .250 hitting percentage), which included the set-clinching kill in the first set, helped open the middle for Seaton and Drake.
 
Kiracofe said he challenged his middle blockers after Thursday's match against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to respond against UIW's talented middle tandem of Bryaunea Hall (six kills) and Sarea Alexander (eight kills).
 
NSU's pair did just that. Seaton tied Alexis Warren for the team lead in kills and added five total blocks. Drake notched 11 kills and chipped in a pair of block assists.
 
"Against Corpus, we had a little bit of trouble with their offense," Seaton said. "We had a little difficulty getting out to the pins. What we worked on for this match was not picking any hitters, just staying neutral. We also worked on transition, getting ourselves in good position to put the ball away."
 
In addition to seeing his team's middle blockers answer the call, Kiracofe watched his team use a strong service run to take control of the final set in much the same way Corpus Christi did two nights ago.
 
Down 8-7 in the fourth set, Warren stepped to the service line and delivered back-to-back aces to start a 6-0 Lady Demons run that led to a Cardinals timeout.
 
"We needed something to go our way," Kiracofe said. "We were struggling to keep things going, and we needed something to go our way. She did a fantastic job serving, got a kill from the back row and played some good defense during that run. It got everybody else going."
 
UIW answered later in the set and took an 18-16 lead, but the Lady Demons had another response that included Jaeger's career-best fourth kill.
 
"Our defense was giving me good balls to work with, and the hitters were putting it away," Jaeger said. "It's good to see from the hitters. It's nice every once in a while for a setter to get a kill, but it's not the first thing on my mind."
 
Northwestern State returns to action Thursday night at Houston Baptist. First serve is set for 7 p.m. in Houston.