NATCHITOCHES – The precursor for the successful second week in Southland Conference play for Northwestern State volleyball was established prior to the match with Houston Baptist.
 
A bounce back win for the Lady Demons (11-7, 3-1 SLC) against the Huskies showed the resolve of the team and the answer to the challenge that fifth-year head coach Sean Kiracofe issued the team.
 
The Lady Demons continued to rise to the challenge last week with a pair of road conference wins, including a memorable one at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi who were looking for redemption of their own following a tough opening conference weekend.
 
"I'd say it started with bouncing back and winning the Houston Baptist match," coach Sean Kiracofe said. "But to be able to go into someone else's gym who is as talented as Corpus is and to get a win, it's going to be a big one for us going forward in the season."
 
Alexis Warren was the offensive catalyst for both matches, earning her first SLC Player of the Week honor in the process. Her 38 kills and .402 hitting percentage led the team last week.
 
The other half of the Demons' dynamic duo, Hannah Brister, carried the team with seven kills in the decisive fifth set at Incarnate Word on Saturday, equaling Warren's kill total of 18 in the match.
 
NSU carries its momentum into a more compressed week matches scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday of this week, rather than the typical Thursday-Saturday slate.
 
Lamar (6-8, 1-3 SLC) comes to Prather Coliseum on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. as the Lady Demons look for their fourth straight SLC win of the year.
 
Complimentary admission for this match, and all home matches this year, is courtesy of the Louisiana National Guard. Live coverage links are available through www.nsudemons.com.
 
The Cardinals snapped a three-match losing skid to start conference play on Saturday with a 3-1 win against Abilene Christian.
 
"They're one of those teams that has really improved since last year," Kiracofe said. "This is the second year of their head coach so you can see that they look way more comfortable out there. That's been showing with some wins. They've been pushing people and it will be an interesting match."
 
Sophomore outside Abigale Nash has been the top offensive threat for the Cardinals this year. She enters the week with 174 kills, a 3.6 kill per set average, but just a .176 hitting percentage.
 
NSU looks to continue its high-level play trying to match the best start to the conference schedule under Kiracofe.
 
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