NATCHITOCHES – The past three weeks of play have built what poses to be an epic matchup for Northwestern State volleyball as they host Stephen F. Austin on Saturday afternoon.
 
The current top two teams in the conference standings, with the two longest active winning streaks, face off at 1 p.m. inside Prather Coliseum.
 
Complimentary admission to the match is provided by the Louisiana Army National Guard. Live coverage links are available at www.nsudemons.com.
 
"It's a big match," coach Sean Kiracofe said. "Anytime you play the team that's ranked number one in the conference it's huge. I think we have a great opportunity to give them a great match and put ourselves in the position to give them that first loss. They do a ton of different things really well so it's not going to be easy, but with the way we're playing right now I think we can take anybody."
 
The Lady Demons (16-7, 8-1 SLC) had little trouble dispatching Abilene Christian on Thursday night, sweeping the Wildcats in dominant fashion. The win was the eighth in a row, tying the school record for longest streak, set during the 2012 season.
 
NSU could seemingly do no wrong in the sweep of ACU, which has been a positive side effect of the confidence level the team the past few weeks. In the last five matches, the Lady Demons have dropped just two sets total, and swept three of their opponents.
 
The Ladyjacks (21-1, 9-0 SLC) on the other hand, have yet to drop a set in the month of October, and on top of their current 14-match winning streak, have a 37-set winning streak entering Saturday's match.
 
"From the outside it looks like everyone buys in to what their role is," Kiracofe said. "Everyone is doing a little bit of everything. No one is really standing out from a stat standpoint and having these great matches because they don't have to. 
 
"Everyone does a little bit which makes it impossible to defend at times. You have to spread yourself thin and can't focus and take one thing away and say let's see if that can beat us because that can beat you. It's very cliché about everyone just doing their job but that's what they do."
 
The numbers don't lie when it comes to everyone doing their job. SFA has five players with 120 kills or more and a .200 attack percentage or better. Five players have more than 140 digs with a 2.0 dig per sent average. Three players have 60 total blocks or more with at least a 0.9 block per set average.
 
However, the Lady Demons fair well using those same parameters. Hannah Brister, Alexis Warren, and Kourtney Seaton all have more than 120 kills and hitting percentages over .200. Brister, Warren, Megan Lohmiller and Haley Hoang each meet the dig criteria as well.
 
They Lady Demons have the confidence and momentum they need to produce a memorable afternoon for NSU fans.
 
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