NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State picked up a key win in its final regular season match of the season on Saturday. The performance of Jaylibeth Garcia-Rosa was a huge factor in the victory and more than enough to earn her Defensive Player of the Week honors, the conference announced on Monday.
 
Garcia-Rosa had a near record-setting performance for the Lady Demons (11-18, 5-9) in their 3-1 win against Nicholls to close the regular season. She was the first NSU player since 2018 to record double-digit blocks in a single match with 11 against the Colonels. The total was the second most in a single match in NSU program history as she became just the fifth player to ever reach that number in a match.
 
In the match-defining third set against the Colonels, the 6-foot-1 junior had her hand in five of NSU's six blocks in the frame. The Lady Demons scored six of their final 11 points in the third set via a block.
 
For the week Garcia-Rosa had 14 total rejections, good enough for a 2.0 block per set average, that also included four solo blocks to add to her conference-leading 34 on the year.
 
At the end of the regular season, Garcia-Rosa has totaled 95 blocks, needing just two more to earn a spot in the top 10 single-season totals at NSU. Her 34 solo blocks this year ranks fifth all-time in program history.
 
The Lady Demons begin the Southland Conference tournament on Thursday at 12 p.m. with a rematch against Nicholls. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ from Houston Baptist's Sharp Gym.