THIBODAUX – Across the next three weekends, the Northwestern State volleyball team will learn to reset its collective body clock.
 
When the Lady Demons cap a three-match Southland Conference road swing at Nicholls on Saturday, it will mark the first of three consecutive 11 a.m. weekend matches.
 
"Luckily, it's not too long of a trip from New Orleans to Thibodaux, so we'll have all day Friday to kick our feet up and rest a little bit," fourth-year head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "Hopefully, we won't have too much homework to do in the hotel that we can get some rest and get out there and make sure we attack them when we have the moment."
 
The Lady Demons (5-8, 1-2) have dropped the first two matches of their three-match swing, including a five-set loss at New Orleans on Thursday night.
 
Northwestern State committed a season-high 20 service errors against the Privateers as they fell for a second straight match. On the positive side, Northwestern State posted 10 blocks, its third straight match with a double-figure block total, the longest such streak in Kiracofe's four seasons at the helm.
 
"For better or worse, I'm not one to pretend a bad match never happened," Kiracofe said. "We're going to look it in the face for what it was and make it better even if it carries over into the Nicholls match, which should pay off toward the end of conference."
 
While the Lady Demons have dropped two straight, Nicholls (3-14, 1-3) snapped a nine-match losing streak Thursday night by sweeping Southeastern Louisiana.
 
The Colonels also took New Orleans to five sets before falling on Tuesday night. With 12 matches remaining, Nicholls is one win away from matching its total from the 2017 season and its conference total as well.
 
"We have a lot to watch on them," Kiracofe said. "They have a new coach (Jay Van Vark), so there are going to be new systems. He's been very successful in a bunch of different areas around the country. That's one we have a lot of studying to do."