CONWAY, Arkansas – Northwestern State volleyball is off to its best start to conference play under head coach Sean Kiracofe.
 
With their win this past Thursday night at Southeastern Louisiana, the Lady Demons (13-7, 5-1 SLC) have the best record through six matches under Kiracofe and the second-best record in Southland Conference play at this point in the year.
 
NSU has won its last five matches in a row and remain undefeated on the road in SLC play.
 
Consistency has been the major talking point for Kiracofe and the staff all season, and over the last five matches, the Lady Demons have seemingly found the groove they hoped they would come the conference season.
 
Offensivley, Hannah Brister continues to rack up the kills and awards. She closes in on a second straight 300-kill season and earned her third offensive Player of the Week honor on Monday. Alexis Warren provides a just as dynamic option and the middle attack of Kourtney Seaton and Reagan Lee has been the most productive during the last six matches as it has been all season.
 
Along with the offensive work by Lee and Seaton, their defense, along with the play of Megan Lohmiller and freshman Haley Hoang have been critical to the recent success.
 
Lohmiller picked up her second defensive Player of the Week honor in the last three weeks on Monday, following a 6.0 dig per set week in two conference sweeps.
 
In the last six matches, NSU held their opponents to a .238 hitting percentage or less each time. In the most recent two matches, Lamar and SELA hit just .097 against the blanketed NSU coverage.
 
The Lady Demons carry their winning streak to Arkansas on Tuesday for another big conference match with Central Arkansas.
 
"UCA has so much history of success going back the last 10 years that it is always a big match-up," Kiracofe said. "They have a small gym that has the crowd right on top making for an intense environment. It's always fun to play up there."
 
The Sugar Bears (8-11, 2-4 SLC) traded wins and loses across their last four matches with a 3-2 win against McNeese and a 3-1 loss at New Orleans their most recent outings.
 
The match will feature the top two offensive threats in the conference on the same floor. 
 
UCA's Abbie Harry ranks second in the SLC in total kills with 262, having played 14 more sets than Brister who leads the conference. Madi Bowles boasts the conference's third best hitting percentage at .312 as an impressive second option for the Sugar Bears with 230 kills of her own.
 
"UCA is a talented team that been a little up and down early this year, but always play tough at home," Kiracofe said. "We're going to have to work hard defensively to slow down all their options, and then take advantage of any opportunities they give us offensively."
 
 
The Lady Demons return home following Tuesday's match for the first of three straight home contests beginning Saturday with McNeese.
 
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