NATCHITOCHES – Down two starters because of the flu, the Northwestern State volleyball team was able to show off its depth Tuesday afternoon.
 
Playing its first home match of the season, the Lady Demons started quickly in front of a crowd of boisterous elementary school children and then flashed its comeback ability to complete a 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-20) victory at Prather Coliseum.
 
"We had to earn it in the third," fourth-year head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "That's good. We came from behind. You always like when you're able to get those out of the way early in the season. The first two sets, we were rolling. I was really happy about that. We stressed being aggressive when we could and smart when we couldn't. We had a different lineup out there today. They played as a group, and I'm happy about that."
 
The Lady Demons' first win of the season came in nearly opposite fashion as its 2017 victory against Jackson State at the Troy Invitational. In that match, Northwestern State had to battle through two tough sets before cruising in the clinching set.
 
In Tuesday's matchup, Northwestern State broke quickly, winning the first two sets by double figures, before falling behind 17-14 in the final set.
 
With the Lady Tigers (1-4) on a 5-1 run, Kiracofe and NSU (1-2) called timeout, sparking an 11-3 surge to close out the set. Freshman Bryce Potter, making her collegiate debut, followed a tie-breaking Reagan Rogers kill by serving up a 4-0 run that ended with a match-sealing ace.
 
Northwestern State's prowess at the serving line helped it jump to a quick start in the match.
 
After Darria Williams and Brooke Wood delivered a block that tied the opening set at 2, Charli Fouts took over, serving four consecutive aces. Fouts added another ace later in the set and one early in the second set, finishing with a career-best six aces.
 
Fouts and Williams both saw increased playing time with Hannah Brister and Alexis Warren unable because of illness.
 
"I've never done that before," said Fouts, who also set a career high with six digs. "Coach just gave me the area, and I served it and luck was on my side today."
 
While Fouts did most of her offensive work from the service line, Williams was NSU's most efficient source of offense, connecting on eight kills on 14 error-free attempts.
 
Behind Williams' efficiency, Northwestern State hit a season-best .277, committing just 12 errors in 94 attempts.
 
"(Kiracofe) told me in the locker room (that I had no errors)," Williams said. "I was shocked."
 
Kiracofe credited Williams and Reagan Rogers (match-high 16 kills) with using their entire offensive repertoires to produce efficiently.
 
Rogers committed just two errors in 41 attempts while becoming the lone player in the match to reach double-figures in kills
 
"She moved the ball around," Kiracofe said of Rogers. "She was really smart – didn't try to just hammer it through the block. She was seeing the court well and moving the ball around."
 
While the Lady Demons' offense hit relatively consistently throughout the match, NSU's block rounded into form as the match progressed.
 
Brooke Wood, making her first appearance of the season after missing this past weekend's Red Raider Classic with the flu, had a match-high seven total blocks (1 solo, 6 assists). Williams and Madeline Drake each had four block assists as NSU tallied 11 total blocks.
 
Drake, who had 101 block assists as a junior, needs just three more to tie Beth Freeland for fourth in NSU school history.
 
"The block came," Kiracofe said. "I'm picky about the block. We got the numbers, which I'm happy about, but it wasn't in the way I wanted. We'll get there."
 
Northwestern State returns to action Friday at 10 a.m. when it faces Bradley in the first match of the Redhawks Invitational at Southeast Missouri State. NSU also will face state rival ULM at 4:30 p.m. Friday in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.