LAFAYETTE – The first weekend of the season tested the Northwestern State volleyball team physically.
 
A five-day stretch beginning with Tuesday's 6:30 p.m. match at in-state rival UL Lafayette will be equally taxing from a mental standpoint.
 
From first serve Tuesday through Saturday, the Lady Demons (0-3) will play six matches, including their home opener Wednesday night against UL Monroe at 6:30 p.m. Following that match, Northwestern State will pack up and head to Birmingham, Alabama, for the UAB/Samford Tournament where it will play doubleheaders Friday and Saturday.
 
"It's going to be difficult physically and relentless mentally just to be able to change speeds and go match after match after match," NSU coach Sean Kiracofe said. "They're all good matches for us to be able to compete with. We just need something to go our way early on, and we can get on a nice roll."
 
Northwestern State dropped all three matches at the season-opening TCU Invitational but saw plenty of bright spots.
 
After her first three starts at libero, Channing Burleson ranks third in the conference in digs per set (4.89), heading a defense that impressed Kiracofe. Even though the strong defense did not translate in the win column, the second-year head coach was pleased.
 
"Our defense was fantastic against a very tough first weekend," Kiracofe said. "Not only did we play well to be able to compete on a point-by-point basis with those teams, the stats were what you want to end up with for the entire season. Those were against three very tough teams."
 
In the 2015 season, Northwestern State edged UL Lafayette, 3-2, giving Kiracofe his first home victory. Tuesday's match is a return trip for NSU, which turns around and makes its home debut Wednesday against ULM.
 
Even without a Louisiana native on the roster, the state rivalries mean something to Kiracofe and the Lady Demons.
 
"They're fun," Kiracofe said. "It's good to compete against those teams and fun to be able to have some bragging rights if you come out on top. It's a good feeling for fans and everyone on the team to compete against someone in state and, if things turn out your way, get a win."
 
UL Lafayette (0-3) fell in all three of its matches at the Houston Baptist Tournament, including dropping a five-setter to Southland Conference member Houston Baptist.
 
The Ragin' Cajuns hit .154 on the weekend with Stacey Reilly leading the offense with 53 kills, an average of 4.08 per set.
 
"We saw some quick film on (UL) Lafayette (Sunday)," Kiracofe said. "It was a fun match with them here last year. I expect to be like that again down there. We played them in the spring and split with them. We're evenly matched. It's going to be very competitive for every single set, and we're going to have to compete for every single point. It's one we look forward to."
 
Following the trip south, NSU returns home to face ULM on "1K Day," the annual push to attract 1,000 fans to a match at Prather Coliseum. Those in attendance are eligible to win some of the $1,000 worth of prizes, including rally towels, gift cards to local restaurants and Adidas gear.
 
ULM (0-3) dropped all three of its matches at the Tennessee Invitational, falling to Middle Tennessee, Tennessee and Cincinnati.  
 
"It's always a fun event," Kiracofe said of 1K Day. "It always brings out a lot of fans. Even if it's because of all the prizes we give away, if we can get fans in there to see us play Monroe, we'll get them back for the next one and start to build our fan base. We're hoping that's how it ends up."