NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State saw first-hand what one of the conference favorites is capable of in its last match. The Lady Demons hope to learn quickly from that experience as they face another top contender on Thursday night.

 

The Lady Demons (2-1, 0-1) take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (3-1, 1-1), picked third in the preseason poll, at 6:30 p.m. inside Prather Coliseum. There is no charge for admission to all NSU home volleyball matches this season. Fans are encouraged to wear masks and social distance when inside the arena.

 

In their conference opener, NSU had the misfortune of facing an uber-talented team with something to prove after a disappointing loss to start to their season. Sam Houston showed their chops early and often and rolled to a 3-0 sweep, taking advantage of the slight missteps from the Lady Demons.

 

Through the tough matchup, sixth-year head coach Sean Kiracofe was able to see things that his young group did well, including positive results from middles Reagan Lee, who continues to progress to 100 percent after a late-season injury in 2019, and Audrey Quesnel, a freshman that continues to improve with each match.

 

"We were able to move the ball around a little bit and get into what we would consider our system," Kiracofe said. "That worked at times and other times they were close, but it wasn't quite there. The long rallies we had at times showed our ability to compete and fight for points, and we did that, but along the way the little break downs started to add up as play kept going. Sam took advantage of that."

 

Quality opposition can also shine a light on holes or areas that need improvement, things that are only fully realized until they are put on display. Although the Lady Demons took some lumps against the Bearkats, Kiracofe believes it will be nothing but beneficial for this team this year and the program going forward.

 

"There are just some things that you can not learn until you experience it," Kiracofe said. "All of those issues existed before we played Sam Houston. We had those break downs and even though they're not major – they were there in practice, against Louisiana Tech, against Grambling. Either those teams couldn't take advantage of it or we were able to get away with it so to speak. 

 

"They know and the veterans are able to convey this that Corpus is one of those teams that if you leave it open, any opportunity they're going to take advantage of it. They absolutely had a better intent in practice to not allow that to be repeated."

 

Like Sam Houston, the Islanders return a bevy of talent from a season ago, including two preseason first-team all-conference selections in libero Carissa Barnes and middle Rachel Young.

 

Corpus cruised to a 3-1 win against Abilene Christian after a five-set battle with defending champion Stephen F. Austin to open league play, where they had a 2-1 lead on the Ladyjacks.

 

Young and senior outside Chloe Simon lead a well-versed, varied offense with more than three kills per set hitting .362 through four matches.

 

"They run a fast offense, but I feel from a defensive and serving standpoint that we can get them in some situations where we have advantages," Kiracofe said. "But we can't start having little break downs that add up because, like Sam, they're going to be good enough to take advantage of it. We're going to have to be right on top of the best that we're capable of doing."