NACOGDOCHES, Texas – After a relaxing weekend, the Northwestern State volleyball team starts a five-day, three-match Southland Conference road swing just the way it wants – against Stephen F. Austin.
 
"You want them first," fourth-year head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "That helps. It hurts us down the road to be able to prepare at the level we want for everyone else."
 
The Lady Demons (5-6, 1-0 Southland) open their first conference road trip at 6:30 p.m. against the Ladyjacks (14-2, 1-0), winners of 11 in a row, including a sweep of reigning Southland Conference Tournament champion Central Arkansas on Thursday.
 
Tuesday's match can be seen on ESPN+, a subscription-based service offered by ESPN.
 
Following Tuesday's trip across Toledo Bend, Northwestern State will travel to New Orleans on Thursday and Nicholls on Saturday before returning home for a four-match homestand that begins Oct. 4.
 
Stephen F. Austin enters Tuesday's match as perhaps the most well-rounded team in the conference. The Ladyjacks lead the SLC in hitting percentage (.254) and rank second in opponent hitting percentage (.172) and hold top-three marks in assists per set, digs per set and aces per set while leading the league in blocks per set (2.42).
 
Northwestern State ranks second in the league in blocks per set (2.25) thanks in large part to the emergence of Brooke Wood, who ranks 16th in the nation and leads the conference in blocks per set (1.45).
 
In Northwestern State's 3-1 win against Incarnate Word on Thursday, Wood tied a school single-match record with 10 block assists, becoming the first Lady Demon to record double-figure block assists in Prather Coliseum.
 
"We've talked about our defense and the progression of that and how tough we can be defensively along the back line," Kiracofe said. "To add the blocking numbers – and Brooke has played a huge role in that – is great. To give your defense in the back row a little bit of a break, you have to put some down at the net, and she's done a good job of that for us."
 
Facing a diverse UIW attack, Northwestern State set a season high with 13 blocks Thursday night. Stephen F. Austin poses a different type of threat.
 
Four Ladyjacks average at least two kills per set while setter Ann Hollas has produced one of the three triple-doubles by a Southland player this season.
 
"They're on a roll," Kiracofe said. "They have a lot of talent they can spread out. You have the old cliché of take something away from a team and see if everyone else can beat you. They can do that.
 
"It's going to be hard to find out what we necessarily want to attack and what we want to take away because they are just so talented across the board."