Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 NEW ORLEANS – The Northwestern State volleyball team dropped a pair of matches to wrap up play at the Tulane Invitational on Saturday.
 
Kourtney Seaton produced 29 kills in the two matches, earning a spot on the all-tournament team, the first such honor of the sophomore middle blocker's career.
 
North Florida 3, Northwestern State 1
 
Bouncing back after a tough five-set match is tough on any volleyball team.
 
Doing so less than 13 hours after walking off the court was the situation the Northwestern State volleyball team faced Saturday morning.
 
Despite dropping the first two sets, the Lady Demons fought through extra points in the third set before falling 3-1 (25-19, 25-19, 24-26, 25-22) to North Florida at the Tulane Invitational.
 
"We had a letdown this morning, which is natural after an intense five-set match (to Tulane) last night," third-year head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "We were able to keep the game close despite our inconsistencies, and I was happy to see that we could flip the switch in the third. Now it's a matter of being able to make that change and stay with it."
 
After enduring nine attack errors in the first two sets, the Lady Demons were able to force a fourth set thanks to their best offensive set of the morning.
 
NSU hit .353 in the third set, committing only one error in 34 swings, outlasting the Ospreys (6-6).
 
The Lady Demons pushed the issue again late in the fourth set, cutting a four-point lead in half before North Florida finished the match.
 
Kourtney Seaton paced Northwestern State offensively, tying a career-high with 14 kills. Freshman Hannah Brister added a double-double of 11 kills and 16 digs, tying Channing Burleson for the team lead in digs.
 
"Hannah had another good match for us and did that while changing positions (moving from outside hitter to right side) during the match," Kiracofe said. "I can't stress how impressive that is."
 
Carina Hoff led five Ospreys in double-figure kills with 15 while Ashley Laborde added a match-high 25 digs.
 
Alabama State 3, Northwestern State 2
 
The defending Southwestern Athletic Conference champions took advantage of NSU's struggles to close out matches to keep the Lady Demons winless on the weekend with a five-set victory (16-25, 25-18, 19-25, 25-19, 15-12).
 
After taking the first set, NSU (4-10) struggled offensively in the second set, collecting 13 attack errors.
 
The Hornets outblocked the Lady Demons 14-5 and capped the match with their most efficient offensive set of the day, hitting .261 in the final set.
 
Brister continued her strong play, delivering 17 kills against Alabama State while Seaton notched a career-high 15 kills to earn her spot on the all-tournament team.
 
Northwestern State's next match is its Southland Conference opener at Lamar on Thursday. First serve is set for 7 p.m. in Beaumont, Texas.