NATCHITOCHES – Entering the second half of a four-match homestand, the Northwestern State volleyball team was looking at two teams who appeared to have solved some early season issues in McNeese and Lamar.
 
Heading into Saturday's match against Lamar, it seems the Lady Demons fall into that category as well.
 
Northwestern State (7-10, 3-4) aims for its second straight Southland Conference victory when it hosts the Cardinals (at 11 a.m. at Prather Coliseum. Streaming video of the match is available on www.NSUDemons.com/watch and through the new Northwestern State athletics mobile app, which is available for download through the Apple Store and Google Play.
 
The Lady Demons will try to back up one of their most complete performances of the season with their first back-to-back conference wins of 2018. NSU hit a season-high .307 while tying a season best by holding McNeese to a .000 hitting percentage in a sweep of the Cowgirls on Thursday night.
 
"We had a really rough start to the conference season, a really difficult start," fourth-year head coach Sean Kiracofe said after Thursday's match. "That's just the way it fell out. From here on out, we're expecting a lot of big things, big performances from everybody. They're not going to be easy, but we think we can play at that level for the rest of the season."
 
Northwestern State did not hit less than .205 in any set in Thursday's win, thanks in large part to taking smarter swings. In its three Southland victories, the Lady Demons have hit no worse than .225.
 
In NSU's victories against McNeese, Incarnate Word and Nichols, it is hitting a combined .258. In its four conference losses, NSU has hit .152.
 
"I was really happy to see that," Kiracofe said of his team's efficient offense against McNeese. "Sometimes, when you've been frustrated like we have been in those tough matches the past couple of weeks, you get stuck in the mind-set of swing harder, and if that doesn't work, swing even harder.
 
"You have to be smart and push the ball around, make the defense have to run and go play it. I think we did a good job of that."
 
Much like McNeese prior to Thursday's match, Lamar (6-12, 3-4) enters Prather Coliseum having won three of its past five matches. The Cardinals already have surpassed their overall and conference win totals from the 2017 season.
 
Tomar Thomas leads the Lamar offense and stands eighth in the Southland Conference in kills per set at 2.97. Northwestern State's Reagan Rogers stands third in that category at 3.45.
 
In conference play, Lamar's offense ranks third in hitting percentage at .229 with Nina Pevic (.328) and Bre'Ala Box (.327) ranking ninth and 10^th individually in that category.
 
After Thursday's match, Northwestern State ranks fourth in the Southland in opponents hitting percentage in conference matches, limiting the opposition to a .183 mark.
 
"They have a new coach, so there's always a learning curve there," Kiracofe said. "They've started to put it together in the last couple of weeks and have done some really nice things. It provides a different element, so we have to get a good feeling from them in the scout."