NATCHITOCHES – With three of the team's four remaining regular season matches in the friendly confines of Prather Coliseum, including one against Central Arkansas on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., the Northwestern State volleyball team is poised to make a jump in the Southland Conference standings heading into tournament play.

Currently, the Lady Demons (13-14, 8-4) are tied with Houston Baptist for fourth in the conference, and are two losses back from second-place Central Arkansas (21-3, 10-2) and third-place Sam Houston State (13-11, 9-2).

Tuesday will mark the second time NSU and the Sugar Bears meet this season. On Sept. 30, the Lady Demons traveled to Conway, Arkansas, to take on UCA, coming up short with a 3-0 loss.

Third-year head coach Sean Kiracofe is hoping turn the tables this season, compared to 2016, when his team swept UCA on the road, but lost in five sets at home in a later meeting.

"We're definitely trying to flip it," Kiracofe said. "Going into this season, we knew that they were going to be a whole lot better. They returned a lot of players, so we knew it was going to be tough."

"Getting the win last year was a big deal because it's hard to play up there. It's a small gym. It gets really loud. It's a great environment, so it's hard to win up there.

Since the loss to UCA five weeks ago, the Lady Demons have made an impressive rebound, winning seven of nine matches. The two losses came in five sets to HBU and four sets to Abilene Christian less than 48 hours after a monumental upset of then-unbeaten in conference Sam Houston.

Leading the charge for the Lady Demons down the final stretch of the season is a well-rounded junior class. The four NSU juniors – outside hitter Reagan Rogers, libero Channing Burleson, middle blocker Madeline Drake and setter Kathryn Wristen – have stepped up their level of play in conference matches, with each ranking fifth or better in one or more individual statistical category among league members.

Rogers, the primary option in NSU's attack, leads the league in conference matches in kills (191) and is second in aces (21). With 345 kills on the season, Rogers needs just 12 more to tie Becky David for ninth in NSU single season history.

Drake ranks fifth among her peers in hitting percentage (.355) for conference matches. Drake is red-hot at the moment, collecting a career-high 16 kills against Sam Houston on Thursday before turning around and hitting .600 with no errors against ACU on Tuesday.

Burleson, the Southland's reigning defensive player of the week, leads the league in total digs and digs per set in conference matches. With 473 total digs this season, Burleson has climbed to fourth all-time in NSU career digs with a total of 1,286.

Wristen, who walked on as setter, ranks fourth in conference matches with 10.29 assists per set.

Wristen is joining Burleson in making an impact on the NSU record books. Wristen's 982 assists for the season currently stands as the eighth-most in a single season. She is just 21 assists away from tying the No. 7 spot on the list, currently held by Emily Sweet.

"They've had a lot of playing experience at varying levels," Kiracofe said. "To get into their junior year and really have the commitment to be able to be at their best on a consistent basis has really come through, and I'm proud of all of them."

The Lady Demons have been a tough team at home this season, taking down perennial SLC powers Texas A&M - Corpus Christi and Sam Houston, as well as pushing Houston Baptist to five sets in a loss.

"Home court advantage is a thing, because it's a thing," Kiracofe laughed off. "When you get a great crowd and it's loud and they're pushing you and helping you, it really helps. All of our home matches so far it's been great."

Thanks to a rigorous opening portion of the conference schedule that saw NSU on the road for seven of its first 10 matches, the Lady Demons finish with five of six at home, including three of the remaining four.

"You look at the conference schedule going into it and you see a lot of road trips, and some people may look at that and think 'This is going to make it really difficult for us," Kiracofe said. "I look at the bright side of it that we're going to be home on the back end. It just makes it that much easier when everyone's getting a little bit worn down to be at home - to have fan support to help us push through the end of the season and go into the tournament strong."