MONROE – This time, the Northwestern State volleyball team finished.
 
Freshman Hannah Brister's kill ended a back-and-forth, five-set match Tuesday night, lifting the Lady Demons to a 3-2 (25-20, 22-25, 25-17, 25-27, 15-13) victory, giving NSU its first five-set triumph of the season.
 
"It's always good to get a five-set win under your belt going into the (conference) season," third-year head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "To have one of those out of the way is big for us."
 
Northwestern State (4-7) snapped a three-match losing streak and grabbed its first five-set win in three tries this season.
 
The Lady Demons did so behind a career night from Reagan Rogers, who knocked down a career-best 23 kills, hitting .246 in the process. Rogers tied Channing Burleson for the team lead with 17 digs, recording her fourth double-double of the season.
 
"We've talked about it since my freshman season that we're going to win fifth sets," Rogers said. "Tonight was really awesome. We always say we want to win at Prather (Coliseum). To win on the road is a bigger deal for us."
 
At home or away, non-conference midweek games have been where Northwestern State has shined. Tuesday's victory was NSU's fifth straight in a non-conference midweek matchup dating to the 2015 season.
 
The Lady Demons extended their streak thanks to quality depth that Kiracofe had preached about since the preseason.
 
Brister's match-clinching kill was her 14^th of the night. Kourtney Seaton added 10 kills on 16 attempts, hitting .500. Victoria Harris added seven kills in 12 error-free attempts and had a pair of key block assists.
 
That depth allowed the Lady Demons to outlast the Warhawks (3-10), who played their first match of more than three sets this season.
 
"There were a lot of ups and downs on both sides," Kiracofe said. "We were able to make some changes, which is something we knew we would be able to do this year. We have a deeper bench, and we're happy we were able to make those changes and they were able to come in and produce for us."
 
Northwestern State needed each of those contributions to overcome 12 service errors and a career night from ULM outside hitter Jennifer McClendon, who connected for 19 kills
 
After the teams alternated wins in the first four sets, the Lady Demons jumped to a 12-6 lead in the final set on a Rogers kill. ULM rallied, cutting the lead to one at 14-13 before Brister hammered home a kill off the ULM block to clinch the match.
 
"We've said all along we expect big things from Hannah," Kiracofe said. "Every time we've given her an opportunity, she's taken it and done good things with it. In a tight, five-set match like this, she had her freshman moments, but overall, you look at the box score, and it was a great night for her."
 
The Lady Demons return to action this weekend when they travel to New Orleans to take part in the Tulane Invitational. NSU begins tournament play Friday at 7 p.m. against host Tulane.