NATCHITOCHES – Currently slotted as the seventh seed in the Southland Conference Tournament and just one game back from the fourth seed, the Northwestern State volleyball team begins its final homestand of the season Thursday at 6:30 p.m. against Nicholls.
The Lady Demons (13-16, 8-6) aim to end a three-match skid that began with a 3-1 loss at home to Abilene Christian on Oct. 28. Prior to the losing streak, NSU put together a run of seven wins in eight matches.
"We're playing tough," third-year head coach
Sean Kiracofe said. "Every time we go up against one of the top teams in the conference, we give them everything we've got. It's good to see. Now it's just getting over the hump in certain situations. We're right there, and I feel we have a lot of good things going."
Nicholls (4-23, 2-12) has faced its share of adversity this season, and will be looking for revenge for a four-set 3-1 loss earlier this season to the Lady Demons.
With a conference tournament bid already locked up, the Lady Demons hope to build momentum with a pair of wins in Prather to close the season. However, regardless of the final seeding, Kiracofe is comfortable against any opponent his team will face.
"It's great to have that feeling of having some wins going in to feel like you're on a roll," Kiracofe said. "But there's nobody that we're concerned about matching up against in the first round. That's probably a better feeling than even getting a win or two heading into the tournament. It's a tight race in the conference right now, but I think we match up well with pretty much everybody."
Outside hitter Reagan Rogers will be continue to be a key offensive player with the season coming to a close. She currently ranks first in the league with 4.19 kills per set in conference matches and second with 24 aces in SLC matches.
Kiracofe saw a hint of what he has been requesting from his team in two losses a week ago – a more balanced offense to take some pressure off Rogers.
Outside hitter Hannah Brister put down 25 kills in the two matches a week ago, hitting .313 against Houston Baptist on Saturday.
Redshirt freshman Brooke Wood made her second start of the season against HBU, proving valuable as a middle blocker with four kills and four block assists.
"It's something we've been stressing here toward the end of the season," Kiracofe said. "Reagan's having a great year and whenever we need a point we know we can go to her, but you can't get comfortable and give her every single ball, because then the defense is going to be ready for it. It's important that some other people start producing some points and we've been doing that.
"Hannah's been doing a great job all season, being able to take some of the load off Reagan. She's second on the team in points scored, which is great as a freshman that's out of position. Then Brooke came in against HBU and gave us a spark, which we needed at the time."
Alongside Rogers' 17 kills, three players (Brister, Kourtney Seaton and Alexis Warren) recorded double-digit kills against Central Arkansas on Tuesday.
Live stats and video will be available through NSUDemons.com, while live updates will be posted on Twitter @NSUDemonsVB.
