NATCHITOCHES – By statistical measures, Northwestern State outside hitter Reagan Rogers is enjoying a career year, but those numbers tell only part of the story of the junior's importance. 

Rogers may have more of an influence on her team's ability to score points than any other individual in the Southland Conference. Her 208 kills in conference matches leads the league as do her 23 aces. In 13 conference matches this season, Rogers has been the match leader in kills in all but two. 

As the Lady Demons (13-14, 8-5) prepare for Saturday's 1 p.m. road finale at Houston Baptist (17-8, 8-4), third-year head coach Sean Kiracofe is thrilled with the leadership Rogers has taken this season.
 
"She's meant everything," Kiracofe said. "She's been consistent as an offensive player, which is obvious, and with the exception of a match here or there, she has been a solid six-rotation player that passes well for us in serve receive and plays consistent defense for us. There's not really a part of the game that she's not having an effect on. She's been instrumental to our success this season."
 
In addition to leading the team in kills, attempts and aces, Rogers has been consistent in the defensive back line, digging the ball 255 times, second-most on the team.
 
Rogers' ascension to NSU's go-to offensive player has not taken a direct route. Heading into her freshman season, Rogers was faced with a challenge seen often in collegiate athletics – joining a team with a new head coach who did not recruit her. 
 
"As a freshman I knew I was going to work hard from day one," Rogers said. "With the former coaches leaving we were sad, but we were happy with Sean coming in and were ready to get to work to play the best for him."
 
Rogers saw playing time in 23 matches as a freshman, impressing late in the season with a 16-kill match against Incarnate Word. She saw a slight decrease in playing time in her sophomore campaign, but again closed the season with another strong showing, putting together three-straight double-digit kill matches, two being double-doubles of 10 or more digs. 
 
"I always think that having any kind of chance to learn is good for a player, even though it's not necessarily what they want," Kiracofe said. "It can be frustrating to wait, and I know it was frustrating for Reagan to have opportunities to play at times in her freshman and sophomore years but not get that consistent playing time. She handled it really well. When she got that opportunity this year, she absolutely just took it and ran with it."
 
"Ran with it" may be an understatement. Her 362 overall kills this season are not only most in the conference, but are one of the best in NSU volleyball single-season history. With a minimum of four matches remaining this season (three regular season and one guaranteed conference tournament match), Rogers has taken the No. 9 spot on the single-season kill list as well as the No. 7 spot on the single-season attempts list with 1,154.
 
Rogers needs 23 more kills this season to tie all-time great and first-year assistant coach Stacey DiFrancesco for No. 6 (385) on the list, which she set in her sophomore season in 2012. DiFrancesco holds the records for most career kills and attempts, and is tied for the second-most kills in a single season with 424 in her freshman season. 
 
"I try not to look at stats," Rogers said. "I just go out and do the best I can for my team. If I get a double-double, or 20 kills, that's awesome, but I just go out there to win."
 
DiFrancesco has taken a little extra pride in Rogers breaking records, including her own, under her guidance this season.
 
"I love seeing her develop and grow as a player," DiFrancesco said. "Any way we can continue to make this program better. This program means so much to me, so it's awesome to see other people excel in it as I did. I could never be upset seeing her pass me on the leaderboards. I worked hard to get where I was, and I know she is as well as she continues to get better."
 
Part of the reason Rogers saw a diminished role early in her career was the presence of veteran outside hitter Lauren Agan. Agan led the Lady Demons in kills in her junior year in 2015 and as a senior she ranked second. 
 
"Playing behind Lauren really helped me learn how to be an L1," Rogers said. "I owe a lot to her. The end of last season really helped me put confidence in myself for this year. I came out in camp, working as hard as I could to earn that starting spot."
 
Both Kiracofe and DiFrancesco noted the change Rogers made in training camp before this season kicked off.
 
"She got her opportunity to get a lot of playing time in the spring and she was really good," Kiracofe said. "But there was definitely a change and evolution from the summer into the fall of 'Alright, I'm going to go after it and have that mentality that this is my job and I want to be the one that is the go-to player.' She has never backed down from that."
 
DiFrancesco said Rogers utilized a strong camp to develop into one of the best players in the Southland.
 
"During camp, you could just see when she came to us and told us she was going to find a way to play, that she was ready," DiFrancesco said. "Obviously, she was right. She contributes in every single way. Reagan's been great for us so far. I think Reagan likes taking on that challenge of being the primary weapon."
 
Rogers attributes much of her success on the court to playing under the direction of DiFrancesco. There is a clear bond between the two evident when talking with each separately. 
 
"Stacey has helped me develop a ton," Rogers said. "She's been in my exact shoes and knows exactly what I am going through. I try to emulate the way she played both as an athlete and a teammate. She's helped me with multiple shots and my serve more than anything. I look to her as a role model and kind of a big sister."
 
With Kiracofe at the helm, the Lady Demons have been known to stifle opposing teams' offensive abilities. This season, Rogers' goal was to keep the defense trending the right way while adding more offensive firepower.
 
"We've always been a defensive team," Rogers said. "This year we want to show teams we're not just good defensively, but we can bring some offense, too. I think we're doing a really good job of being more aggressive on offense and showing people what we can do."
 
With three regular-season matches remaining, Kiracofe is hoping for more of the same from Rogers and is looking for some players to make a step up when the opportunity arises. 
 
"Of course we would like her to have big matches, but I'd like to think that it's not essential for us," Kiracofe said. "Everyone else is going to have to step up around her. That is something that we need to do now with teams that we're playing for the second time and teams that we're going to see again in the tournament. They're going to know what Reagan is capable of, so she just needs to be steady with what she does and what she can control. 
 
"When everyone goes in and focuses their defense and their block to stop Reagan, it should make it easier for everybody else. That's just another thing that's a compliment to how she's played so far this year."