THIBODAUX – A quick start Saturday afternoon had the Northwestern State volleyball team thinking about its second straight Southland Conference sweep.
When the third set didn't go their way, the Lady Demons did not panic. Instead, they gave a resounding answer to complete a 3-1 (25-23, 25-12, 18-25, 25-13) victory at Nicholls.
"We've proven if we come out and have a slow start, we can turn things around and be aggressive making adjustments when we find out how we can score," second-year head coach
Sean Kiracofe said. "We responded well after not getting things done in the third. Starting the fourth set on track is a big deal. It's something you'll always have to battle in conference. People are going to come out (of intermission) and fight really hard. To be able to respond like that is good."
Northwestern State (7-10, 2-0) won its first two Southland matches for the first time since 2013 and produced its first 2-0 road start in conference play since 2012.
The Lady Demons did so with a balanced offense. Middle blockers
Kourtney Seaton (14) and
Madeline Drake (11) combined for 25 kills as Seaton set a career high for the second time in the past three matches.
Working in concert with the outside hitters, Northwestern State's middles helped NSU hit .272 for the match with Seaton knocking down 14 kills on 24 swings, committing only one error.
"To start, (
Alexis Warren) was doing fantastic as far as scoring points for us," Kiracofe said of the freshman outside hitter, who collected 11 kills and 14 digs. "Nicholls made some adjustments and slowed her down. We know we have people who can come off the bench for us and play well."
Ten of Warren's 11 kills came in the first two sets before the Colonels (4-13, 0-2) adjusted their defensive philosophy.
It worked in the third set as Nicholls limited Northwestern State to a .162 hitting percentage in the set.
Late in the third set and throughout the fourth, the Lady Demons' depth took over as
Reagan Rogers came off the bench to deliver 10 kills on 14 error-free attacks. Rogers collected seven kills in the final set, allowing Northwestern State to equal its win total from the 2015 campaign.
"The game plan from the start was to work the outside, come back to the middle when they split the block and go back outside," Kiracofe said. "That's when Reagan went on a roll and gave us a lot of points. She came in and played fantastic and showed them something they couldn't adjust to quickly enough."
Northwestern State continued to block well up front, collecting six total blocks, led by Drake's five block assists. In its first two Southland matches, Northwestern State has outblocked its opponents, 11-2.
"These first two matches were very important for us, not just to get off to a good start in conference play but to get two road wins," said Kiracofe, whose team is 3-2 in true road matches this season. "We'll be home soon and that will be really good for us, but to start 2-0 means a great deal."
Northwestern State returns to action Tuesday night at 6 p.m. when it wraps up a three-match road trip at Central Arkansas. The Lady Demons' home conference opener is Sept. 29 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
