THIBODAUX – Finding itself in the same position for the second time in three days, the Northwestern State volleyball team had a much more forceful response Saturday morning.
 
After splitting the first two sets at Southland Conference rival Nicholls, the Lady Demons capped a three-match road swing on a positive note, taking the final two sets from the Colonels to snap a two-match losing streak, 3-1 (25-20, 16-25, 25-19, 25-21).
 
"Thursday we made a lot of uncharacteristic unforced errors (at New Orleans), and we were not very cohesive on defense," fourth-year head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "With the exception of Set 2, we took some good steps at controlling the errors and getting our defense working like normal."
 
For the second time in as many matches, the Lady Demons (6-8, 2-2) split the first two sets in a road match. Unlike Thursday's five-set loss at New Orleans, Northwestern State came out of the break between the second and third sets with energy.
 
Despite hitting under .200 for the second straight set, the Lady Demons prevailed thanks to their defense, which limited the Colonels (3-15, 1-4) to a .106 hitting percentage.
 
A trio of Lady Demons – Channing Burleson, Hannah Brister and Skylar Besch – each produced seven digs in the set while NSU produced two of its five total blocks in the match. For the first time in conference play, the Lady Demons failed to record at least 10 blocks, but the Northwestern State defense tallied 68 digs, its highest mark in four conference matches.
 
Burleson led the way with 23 digs while Reagan Rogers tallied 15 and Brister added nine.
 
"Our blocking is much improved this year, and we have devoted more time and attention to it to get it where we want," Kiracofe said. "Our last two matchups have been against two programs that have made a concerted effort to manage their errors and take smarter swings, meaning our blocking numbers were going to drop some no matter what. With more blocks, your opportunities to dig balls are going to drop, so I'm happy to see that Channing didn't forget how to be amazing back there."
 
Rogers paced Northwestern State's offense with 14 kills, posting a double-double for the second straight match. Playing 25 miles from her hometown of Paincourtville, Brister added 12 kills, giving her 28 in the past two matches.
 
"I think Hannah can score against anyone in the conference and from multiple areas along the net," Kiracofe said. "With her improved passing in serve receive, it allows us to put her anywhere we feel she can help us the most during the match. We are fortunate to have that type of versatility with her."
 
Buoyed by their defense, the Lady Demons turned it around offensively in what became the final st.
 
NSU hit .286 in the fourth set, its second-highest mark of the match. The Lady Demons hit .225 as a team, their second-best mark in the first four conference matches.
 
Tied at 13 in the fourth set, Northwestern State used an 8-1 run to take control of the final set. In addition to kills from Brister, Madeline Drake and Darria Williams, Burleson added two of Northwestern State's five aces in the match as the Lady Demons opened up a seven-point lead and cruised to their first road conference win of the season.
 
Northwestern State returns home to open a four-match homestand Thursday against Central Arkansas. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. in Prather Coliseum.