TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – The first two weeks of the 2016 season have been filled with learning experiences for the Northwestern State volleyball team.
 
Some of those lessons have been imparted off the court, along eastbound Interstate 20. The same route that carried NSU through the final two-thirds of a six-matches-in-five-days run comes back into focus for the Lady Demons this weekend as they head to the Bama Bash, hosted by the University of Alabama.
 
After splitting four matches at this past week's UAB/Samford Invitational, Northwestern State (4-5) starts Bama Bash play by facing the hosts at 10 a.m. Friday on a match that will be available through SEC Network Plus. NSU faces Lehigh at 4 p.m. Friday before wrapping up tournament play against Southern Miss at 2 p.m. Saturday.
 
The now-rested Lady Demons bring with them some momentum born of posting a 4-2 record in its busies five-day stretch of the season, one that saw NSU produce at a much better clip than in the season-opening weekend.
 
"Right for the first match, we had the defense there," second-year head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "We were digging a lot of balls. Our blocking got better as we went. We just needed some time to connect offensively. That seemed to hit for us this past week."
 
While libero Channing Burleson has quarterbacked the defense, leading the Southland Conference and ranking 11^th nationally in digs per set (5.45), freshman Alexis Warren has shouldered a heavy offensive workload.
 
Warren leads Northwestern State in kills (95) and total attempts (358) while ranking second on the team in digs (99) in her first college season.
 
"We knew what she would be able to provide for us as a six-rotation player, but to maintain that at a high level and do it consistently was a surprise," Kiracofe said. "With any freshman you expect ups and downs, but she's been really steady for us."
 
 While the NSU offense rounded into form, the Lady Demons showed their ability to shift quickly not only from opponent to opponent but from fun to focused during this past week.
 
"It's a group that likes to have fun," Kiracofe said. "Like last year, they get along great, but they get into business mode at game time. Against UAB, we were playing well, having a good time. In one timeout, I told them, 'Don't let it go too far. Maintain your focus, but have fun at the same time.' They came out and finished the match while having a good time."
 
That mix of fun and focus will be challenged by a tournament field that brings a combined record of 14-7 into the event.
 
There are a pair of rematches of sorts for the Lady Demons, who faced Alabama (5-2) and Southern Miss (6-2) in this event in 2015. NSU has faced Southern Miss in each of the past five seasons, developing a bit of a rivalry with the Golden Eagles.
 
"Alabama's going to be tough," Kiracofe said. "They had, like everybody does, a little bit of turnover and struggled in the first weekend. Then they figured things out.
 
"Southern Miss has had a great season. We played them in the spring and played really well. They've come out on fire. They beat LSU, UConn and Virginia this past weekend. We'll have to rely on the spring when we figured some things out on them and see if we can push them a little bit. It's going to be a tough one overall."
 
While Alabama and USM are familiar foes, NSU and Lehigh (3-3) meet for the first time in program history.
 
Despite the seeming unfamiliarity, the programs have a shared tie.  
 
"Their coach (Bob Bertucci) coached our GA, Collin Wallace," Kiracofe said of the coach and then-student-athlete who were together at Temple. "That's fun. It adds a little element to the match that usually isn't there. We got to experience that with (assistant coach) Alicia (Roth) at Samford. It was a different coach than when she was there, but those memories are there. It adds a little spice to the match."