NATCHITOCHES – There was plenty of emotion for Thursday night's "Fork Cancer" volleyball match at Prather Coliseum.
 
A good amount of that was bottled up in Northwestern State junior defensive specialist/libero Megan Lohmiller.
 
Lohmiller and the Lady Demons' defense turned in one of their best statistical performances of the season, keying a 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-16) Southland Conference sweep of McNeese.
 
"It really was special," said Lohmiller, who tallied 11 of Northwestern State's 48 digs. "(Terri Coleman, mother of one of Lohmiller's close friends) recently passed. She was near and dear to my heart. I dedicated my pink jersey and my performance to her. She deserves it."
 
The Lady Demons (7-10, 3-4) channeled those emotions into perhaps their most complete match of the season, snapping a two-match losing streak.
 
While Lohmiller and the defense held McNeese (5-16, 3-3) to a .000. hitting percentage in all three sets, the Northwestern State offense resembled the veteran unit it is, hitting .307 for the match. The .000 hitting percentage matched NSU's season low by an opponent, which came Aug. 28 against Jackson State in the Lady Demons' home opener.
 
Freshman setter Skylar Besch coordinated a versatile attack as five Lady Demons tallied at least eight kills in the three-set sweep.
 
Besch was among that group, knocking down a career-high eight kills on 13 error-free attacks to notch a match-high .615 hitting percentage.
 
"Normally, I feel after I do it a few times, the block starts adjusting," Besch said. "Every time I went up, I saw it was open."
 
Besch joined Reagan Rogers (10), Alexis Warren (9), Madeline Drake (8) and Hannah Brister (8) as NSU attackers to tally at least eight kills in the sweep. Besch's ability to score is something fourth-year head coach Sean Kiracofe has lauded throughout the season, but it was Besch's maturity that had Kiracofe smiling Thursday.
 
"She's very patient with it and doesn't overuse it," Kiracofe said. "Most setters, once they score a couple of times, keep going back to it and forget about their attackers. She's really good at not doing that. It was open for her this match. She kept going to it, and she was making good choices. She saw the openings, and I'm happy about that."
 
With Besch pushing all the right buttons, Northwestern State improved its attack percentage each set, culminating in a third set where its lead ballooned to 23-9 at one point before a brief flurry of errors allowed the Cowgirls to cut the lead to seven.
 
After Rogers' final kill of the night slowed McNeese, the Cowgirls picked up another point, setting up another emotional moment.
 
Besch's 35^th assist of the night was a set to sophomore middle blocker Aiyana Bean, who found a seam in the middle of the McNeese defense and delivered her first career kill to give Northwestern State its first conference sweep of the season.
 
"That was awesome," Lohmiller said. "We all wanted it for her. She's deserved it. It was awesome to see the team's reaction after the kill."
 
Northwestern State returns to action Saturday at 11 a.m. as it closes a season-long, four-match homestand by hosting Lamar.