NEW ORLEANS – The Northwestern State volleyball team improved to 6-3 in Southland Conference play, battling past New Orleans in four sets Thursday night 3-1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-23, 25-23).
The Lady Demons (11-13, 6-3) came into the match off the coattails of a painful five-set loss to Houston Baptist on Tuesday, and looked like a team with something to prove.
New Orleans (9-12, 3-6) has now played 14 sets in its previous three matches, winning in five sets against Southeastern Louisiana and Lamar.
Outside hitter
Reagan Rogers led the team in kills for the match, finishing with a match-high 23 kills while hitting .308.
"Reagan has really stepped up this week and has been able to score when everyone in the gym knows she's getting the ball," third-year head coach Sean Kiracofe said "It's been fun to watch."
Even with Rogers' 23 kills, the Lady Demons met Kiracofe's goal of a more even attack. Five players attempted 19 shots or more in the match, while four finished with nine or more kills.
"We did want to spread the ball out tonight," Kiracofe said. "But UNO can be big in the middle, so at times it wouldn't make sense to run our middles even though we are trying to avoid setting Reagan 100 balls a night.
Outside hitter
Hannah Brister and middle blocker
Madeline Drake were in sync defensively, securing the third and fourth sets with combined blocks.
Brister finished with four block assists while Drake had three block assists as well.
The Lady Demons opened the match with a strong first set, recording 13 kills and five aces, while holding UNO to .179 hitting.
Middle Blocker
Kourtney Seaton, who struggled in the Lady Demons' previous match, dominated the opening set, putting down six kills.
"Kourtney rebounded for us some tonight and opened up the offense for us in some important rotations," Kiracofe said. "That's something we need consistently going forward."
The Privateers evened the match with a second-set win, coming back offensively to hit .481.
The fourth set, undoubtedly the tightest match of the set, featured 16 tied scores. The largest lead of the set was a UNO 15-12 lead that was quickly erased by the Lady Demons. NSU went on to win the set, breaking a 23-all tie with a Rogers kill followed by a Drake and Brister combo block.
"You never want to be in those situations when you're actually in them," Kiracofe said. "But it's good to have the team grind through a tough match where they have to earn each set win."
The Lady Demons stay on the road for their next contest, facing Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday at 1 p.m.
