NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State volleyball team had played a number of close matches entering Thursday night's "Dig Pink" matchup with Abilene Christian.
 
The Lady Demons did not add to that list, falling 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-21) to their Southland Conference foes in Prather Coliseum.
 
NSU (11-16, 6-6) dropped its fourth straight match and fell to .500 in conference play for the first time this season.
 
"It wasn't us," second-year head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "I guess we need to figure out who we are."
 
After a back-and-forth start to the first set, Abilene Christian (8-18, 7-4) gained the upper hand in the middle of the set with a 4-1 run that snapped a 13-all tie.
 
The Wildcats then began the second set with a 9-1 run. ACU opened as much as a 15-point lead twice in the second set, including going up 24-9 on a Jacey Smith kill.
 
At that point, Northwestern State put together its best offensive moments of the match.
 
Kourtney Seaton recorded one of her 10 kills, which tied for the match high, and Reagan Rogers served up a 7-0 run, including an ace, before a service error gave the Wildcats a 2-0 lead entering intermission.
 
Rogers, Victoria Harris and Kathryn Wristen (17 assists) saw extended playing time after entering in the second set, helping infuse the Lady Demons with some energy.
 
"Vic provided some offense on the right side, which was good to see," Kiracofe said. "She's been able to do that in practice. To see her go into a match and continue to do that is a positive thing."
 
NSU's uneven offense hit negatively in the second set before rebounding a bit in the third. However, ACU clinched the match by hitting .250 in the final set and keeping NSU from stringing together a long run.
 
The Lady Demons' best push of the final set came when they trailed 21-14. A Seaton kill started the run and Rogers served up a 4-0 spurt that cut the ACU lead to two.
 
"Kourtney had a great match," Kiracofe said. "That was hidden in everything else that happened. She had 10 (kills) and two (errors) and hit (.421)."
 
NSU returns to action Tuesday, making its final road trip of the regular season to face New Orleans. The Lady Demons swept the Privateers in Natchitoches on Oct. 13.