HAMMOND – A pair of seniors put the Northwestern State volleyball team on the doorstep of its first road sweep of the 2018 Southland Conference season.
 
The return of sophomore Hannah Brister helped the Lady Demons knock down that door.
 
That combination allowed Northwestern State to collect a sweep homestanding Southeastern Louisiana, 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 26-24), and snap a two-match losing streak.
 
"We talked about it before the match, and it comes down to us figuring out different ways to win," fourth-year head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "We have to figure out how to win, no matter the situation – whether we're up and hold on or if it's close and we have to earn a couple of big points or if we have to come back. The best thing out of today's match is we got to figure out ways to win a bunch of different ways. Each set was different, and we pulled it off."
 
The Lady Demons (9-12, 5-6) broke to a fast start in the opening set, taking a nine-point lead at 19-10 before the Lady Lions (2-22, 1-10) used a 10-2 run to cut the lead to one
 
After a service error sliced NSU's lead to 22-21, the Lady Demons responded with a kill by Alexis Warren, a Southeastern Louisiana error and a Reagan Rogers kill to clinch the set.
 
Rogers managed just four kills on the match but delivered the set-clinching points in each of the first two sets. Her kill ended the first set and her second ace of the match capped a 4-0 NSU run to clinch the second set.
 
"We moved Reagan around a little for this match, and she was a little out of position, which made it difficult for her to get into a groove," Kiracofe said. "When things matter most, we know Reagan is going to come through and give us what we need in the moment."
 
The same can be said for Drake, another of Northwestern State's five seniors.
 
Drake was her typical efficient self offensively, collecting eight kills with a .467 hitting percentage. Much as she did throughout her junior season, Drake saved her best for Saturday's final set.
 
The Lady Lions kept a two- to three-point lead for most of the set, including building a 19-16 lead, which led to a Northwestern State timeout.
 
Following the timeout, Drake sparked a 4-0 Lady Demons run with a block solo, a block assist (with Warren) and a kill. She added another block assist (with Skylar Besch) that broke a 22- all tie and forced a Southeastern Louisiana timeout and added a kill that snapped a 23-all deadlock.
 
In the final set, Drake knocked down five of her eight kills and tallied four total blocks (1 solo, 3 assists).
 
"Madeline is always ready to step up in big moments like that," Kiracofe said. "We can always count on her. When the set or the match is on the line, she's going to do something good with the ball."
 
The same can be said for Brister anytime the Lady Demons venture into south Louisiana.
 
A Paincourtville native, Brister started quickly Saturday, delivering six kills on her first seven attacks before dislocating a finger midway through the second set. She returned late in the third set and finished with 10 kills against only one error, a .529 hitting percentage.
 
Two of her 10 kills were back-to-back efforts off sets by Kathryn Wristen that clinched the final set and gave NSU its first road sweep of conference play.
 
"Hannah was having a great match offensively until she dislocated her finger," Kiracofe said. "Luckily for her, it was on her left hand. We wanted to limit her action as much as possible. When we needed an influx of offense, we called her number and she was ready to go and scored like she had before."
 
Brister's big match came in a familiar setting as both of her parents were student-athletes at Southeastern Louisiana. Brister's mother played volleyball for the Lady Lions while her father was a baseball player at SLU.
 
"It's always going to be special for her when she can come here to play because of those memories," Kiracofe said. "We're happy she can come here and play on the same court her mother did and at the school her father played for. It's good for her to be able to come back and compete in front of them and all of her family in general."
 
Brister and Warren (11 kills) were the only players in the match to reach double figures in kills while Channing Burleson added 16 digs.
 
Northwestern State returns to action Thursday when it hosts Houston Baptist at 6:30 p.m. That match, which will be NSU's annual Greek Night, begins a three-match homestand for the Lady Demons.