BEAUMONT, Texas – Winning on the road in any sport never is an easy task.
 
It is one at which the Northwestern State volleyball team has become rather proficient.
 
Despite falling to Houston Baptist on Thursday, the Lady Demons have won three of their first four road matches in Southland Conference play as they prepare to face Lamar at 1 p.m. Saturday.
 
NSU (9-12, 4-2) has won five of its first nine true road matches of the season. A season ago, the Lady Demons won just two of 12 true road matches.
 
"Last season, we were shaky (on the road)," senior setter Natalie Jaeger said. "It's always different when you're on the road. Being able to go into your opponent's gym and show what we can do is a big thing."
 
Jaeger credited the success away from Natchitoches to an increase in familiarity, which in turn has led to a tighter bond between the players and coaching staff.
 
"Our maturity level is ahead of where it was last year," Jaeger said. "We had a chance to work with our coaching staff over the spring and hone in on specific things we wanted to work on. It has increased our confidence level and our mind-set is different."
 
Lamar (3-13, 3-1) also will enter Saturday's matchup with a different mind-set.
 
The Cardinals did not win a non-conference match but have rattled off three consecutive wins after dropping their conference opener at Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 22.
 
Chelsea Grant has led Lamar's surge, as she has for much of her career. A returning first-team all-conference selection, Grant ranks fourth in the conference in kills per set both overall (3.33) and in conference play (3.53).
 
Grant's success has come with a caveat.
 
"The difference is she has moved to the outside," second-year coach Sean Kiracofe said. "For the majority of her career, she's been one of the best middles in the conference. With a player like her, you try to get her the ball more often and good things will happen.
 
"With that type of position change, the preseason may have been a feeling-out period for them. Maybe they've figured some things out, and it's starting to click."
 
Freshman Alexis Warren sits immediately ahead of Grant in conference play, ranking third in kills per set at 3.62. She is one of four primary starters who are in their first season in that role, joining fellow freshman Kourtney Seaton and sophomores Madeline Drake and Abby Gardea.
 
The readjusted nucleus already has helped Northwestern State surpass its win total from the 2015 season and sit one win away from equaling its SLC win total from a season ago.
 
"This year has been a lot different," Gardea said. "We've had a bunch of people step up and take roles that are big for them, and we've done a good job of working together."