NATCHITOCHES – One big Lamar run was enough to awaken the Northwestern State volleyball team Saturday morning.
 
The Lady Demons began the Southland Conference matchup with the visiting Cardinals by rattling off 17 of the first 26 points before Lamar rallied to take a late lead in the set.
 
Showing the poise of a veteran squad, the Lady Demons responded by claiming the final four points of the set to put in motion their second straight sweep, downing the Cardinals, 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-20) at Prather Coliseum.
 
"I'd wish I could say (I said) something awesome," fourth-year head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "It was really just do your job. I was really proud of them. That's a tough situation when you let a team come back and have a chance to steal a set from you. We were able to settle down and earn some points. Reagan (Rogers) went on a run for us and controlled the end of Set 1. When you allow (Lamar) to be big and athletic, they're going to do some good things. I'm happy we were able to get out of that set."
 
Coupled with Thursday's sweep of McNeese, Northwestern State (8-10, 4-4) collected its first back-to-back victories in conference play of the season, closing out a four-match homestand in their final home match until November.
 
The Lady Demons settled in nicely after the near collapse in the first set, building as much as a 13-point lead in the second set and never allowing Lamar (6-13, 3-5) to regain the type of momentum it had in the opening set.
 
While NSU hit a match-best .360 in the second set, it was the Lady Demons' defense that caught Kiracofe's eye in the swing set.
 
"(Libero Channing Burleson) was amazing in the second set," Kiracofe said of the reigning Southland Conference Libero of the Year who tallied eight of her team-high 15 digs in that set.
 
"She made some plays that normal players do not make. She kept a lot of plays alive when they were making a push to prove that run in set one wasn't a fluke, and she was there to stop it. I was really impressed with her."
 
Prior to the match, Kiracofe cited taking smart swings as a key to his team's potential offensive success. His team responded.
 
NSU hit .258 against the Cardinals, keeping alive its streak of hitting at least .225 or better in all four of its Southland Conference victories.
 
Hannah Brister and Rogers led the Lady Demons' offense with 10 kills apiece with Brister committing only one errors en route to a .529 hitting percentage. In the Lady Demons' sweeps of McNeese and Lamar, Brister tallied 18 kills against two errors, hitting .533 for the week.
 
"At the beginning, I could see they weren't taking as much line," Brister said. "They changed their defense in the second and third sets, so I started hitting more cross. I feel like being able to move it around was a key. (Hitting line) is probably my favorite shot, but it helps to have that big range to hit."
 
Northwestern State raced to another big lead in the third set at 16-9 before Lamar closed to within three points at 23-20. Following a service error, Rogers and Brooke Wood combined on the Lady Demons' eighth block of the day to clinch the victory.
 
"We had a rotation where let them back in the match (in set one)," said senior blocker Madeline Drake, who hit .333 on 15 attacks (seven kills) and added five digs and four block assists. "We said that wasn't going to happen (in the third set). We played like we know how to play and took care of the match."
 
Northwestern State will spend the next three matches on the road, beginning with a Thursday night match at Abilene Christian. First serve is set for 6 p.m.