HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Seemingly all season long, the Northwestern State volleyball team's ability to adjust and overcome has been tested.
 
The Lady Demons' resiliency may not be challenged as much as it will Saturday when Northwestern State faces Sam Houston State in a 1 p.m. Southland Conference matchup.
 
Not only will Northwestern State try to bounce back from a 3-1 loss at Abilene Christian in which a third-set ACU rally changed the trajectory of the match, it will do so in what may be the most hostile venue it will travel to in 2018.
 
"We talked about how you can't go in there and think it's going to be just another match," fourth-year head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "They're going to be motivated to be at their best, so we have to be the same."
 
In the most recent meeting between the teams, Northwestern State scored a 3-1 win on Oct. 26, 2017, snapping the Bearkats' nine-match win streak to start conference play.
 
NSU's victory, which came with the Lady Demons out of subs in the fourth set, set off one of the more emotional celebrations of Kiracofe's NSU tenure.
 
"Everyone loved that match," he said. "It was very unique in that we ran out of subs and had a couple of defensive (specialists) up front. Megan (Lohmiller) played fantastic up there and had two great blocks to slow them down and allow us to transition to offense where (Madeline) Drake put it away. For a number of reasons, it was a great match and environment in Prather. Sam Houston is not going to be more motivated to beat anyone other than us."
 
The Bearkats were picked to finish seventh in the conference standings but enter Saturday's matchup tied for second, one game behind league-leading Stephen F. Austin.
 
Sam Houston State had to replace a first-team all-conference selection (Jordyn Vaughn) and a second-team pick (Brooke White) but returned first-team All-SLC honoree Taylor Cunningham, who has more than picked up the slack lost from Vaughn and White.
 
Cunningham twice has been named Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week and SLC Defensive Player of the Week, including a sweep of the awards on Sept. 24.
 
She leads the conference in kills per set (3.94) and points (335) while ranking in the top 10 in hitting percentage (.330, 3^rd) and blocks per set (1.07, 7^th), showcasing her versatility.
 
"On paper, Sam Houston was supposed to struggle this year because they lost a lot of senior talent," Kiracofe said. "Cunningham didn't get that memo.
 
"We unfortunately saw a preview of this her freshman year. She was in the middle, and they moved her back in serve receive and she touched everything. She did everything and almost single-handedly beat us in that match."
 
In addition to leading the Bearkats in kills and blocks, Cunningham has collected 229 digs, which ranks second on the team behind libero Madison Wallace.
 
Cunningham will challenge a Northwestern State defense that dealt with a more spread-out offense against Abilene Christian on Thursday night.
 
"A lot of focus goes to her, so everyone else has an easier path to score and be successful," Kiracofe said of Cunningham. "You can't just focus on her, though. You have to be able to stop others. At times, you say maybe you can win the whole match yourself this day, and, hopefully, she can't."