HOUSTON – Northwestern State plays in the opening match of the Southland Conference Tournament on Thursday looking for a repeat performance from just a few short days ago.
 
Five days after a 3-1 win against Nicholls (10-16, 3-11) in the season finale, the Lady Demons (11-18, 5-9) take on the Colonels again in the conference tournament. This time however, the winner moves to the next round against McNeese and the loser returns to Louisiana.
 
First serve on Thursday is set for 12 p.m. from Sharp Gym on the campus of Houston Baptist. All matches will be steamed live on ESPN+ with links available at www.nsudemons.com or on the NSU Athletics mobile app, a free download available through either the Apple or Google stores.
 
"I think the girls feel good coming out of Saturday," head coach Sean Kiracofe. "I am biased, but I feel like the majority of our matchups against Nicholls should end up like that. The fact remains though that we've played each other twice and it was the exact opposite the first time we saw them. 
 
"So, from a sample size of two it's a coin flip as to how those matchups are going to turn out, but I believe when we are playing consistently at a certain level the majority will go in our favor. We have to prove that on Thursday."
 
After a slow start, one matchup that turned in NSU's favor, especially during the pivotal third set and went a long way in determining the outcome of the match, was the block. The Lady Demons had six blocks down the stretch of that set, five involving eventual SLC Defensive Player of the Week Jaylibeth Garcia-Rosa who recorded the second most blocks in a match in program history with 11.
 
That run gave the Lady Demons all the momentum they would need to win the match in the next set and a morale boost entering a rematch with the Colonels on a much bigger stage this week.
 
"This game was super important to us just like Thursday is," Addison McDermott said following Saturday's win where she tied for the team lead with 10 kills. "We knew that we needed to make a statement and fix what happened last time we played them. This gives us more confidence to be able to do it again on Thursday."
 
McDermott and Haley Hoang will be the only players on the court Thursday that have any previous tournament experience. Now juniors, the duo saw action during their freshman season in two matches the Lady Demons played following the 2019 season. Both saw action in all eight sets of the 2019 tournament and also were part of NSU's postseason match in the NIVC at Wyoming.
 
Thursday will be the first tournament match for Nicholls since 2014.
 
"Addi and I were underclassmen at the time, so we really didn't know what to expect," Hoang said. "I hope that we can bring a sense of calmness and relief to the people that haven't been in a conference tournament. It's really a lot about our mindset and staying locked in. Everyone has a fair shot there and hopefully if we work hard, we can come out on top."
 
With so many players seeing the tournament floor for the first time, the message from Kiracofe is a simple one – remember Saturday.
 
"The focus is on how we played on Saturday," he said. "It wasn't that long ago and we didn't come out and play our best in the first set but that calmed down and things went our way. You remind them that we're starting out even. It's the same thing as having a great set and knowing it's still 0-0 to start the next one."
 
Once the ball is in the air and the first few swings come on both sides it will be about the adjustments the Lady Demons are expecting from Nicholls and how they counter them.
 
"They (Nicholls) have the ability to change their lineup by moving some people around so we could be looking at a different lineup in each set," Kiracofe said. "I'm sure we're going to see something different from them at the beginning of the match. That was even something we talked about leading into the match on Saturday.
 
"There's no doubt going to be something we're going to have to change and react to, but ultimately I think it comes down to us being consistent with ball control, giving ourselves options and continue to do the things we know will work if we are playing the way we need to."