OXFORD, Miss. – Northwestern State saw both promise and frustration on the first day of the Ole Miss Invitational. 
 
Despite the 3-1 (25-16, 25-17, 22-25, 25-15) loss to Coastal Carolina, the promise came from the third-set victory where the Lady Demons maintained their lead after a late push from the Chanticleers. The frustration came from three long scoring runs by UTSA in each set of the 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-15) sweep.
 
"Coastal was a good match for us to show what we could do against a really good team," head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "Football fans should know the name Coastal Carolina, but their volleyball program is as good as it gets for mid-majors. 
 
"To be able to take the third set and make a push in the fourth is something to be proud of. Brea (Burrell) had maybe her best offensive showing of the season, Jaylibeth (Garcia-Rosa) had another great match, and Kate (Idrogo) came in to have another impressive showing. Coastal is a very good and balanced offense and I was happy to see how our defense improved as the match progressed."
 
Coastal Carolina 3, NSU 1
 
The Lady Demons could not have asked for a better start to the match offensively with two early kills from Jaylibeth Garcia-Rosa and another from Symone Wesley. With 12 total kills in the first set, and just one error, NSU started the match on the right foot with a .324 attack percentage.
 
Unfortunately, the Coastal Carolina defense had an equally as good start to the match digging 19 of the 34 attacks, their best number of the day. The Lady Demons got within three points after kills from middles Garcia-Rosa and Audrey Quesnel at 11-8. The rest of the way thought the Chanticleers answered each NSU point with two or three of their own taking the opener 25-16.
 
Coastal continued their run into the early parts of the second set jumping ahead 8-1 with four aces, three kills and a block out of the gate. Although the offense wasn't as effective with their swings in the second, they were able to fight back with a 6-2 run midway through the set.
 
Half of the run came from three different blocks with three different combinations of NSU players. Garcia-Rosa provided a solo stop then helped with Kate Idrogo on another. Idrogo and Quesnel provided the third that pulled the Lady Demons the closest they would get at 17-14. The ensuing 6-0 run from Coastal all but secured the 25-17 second-set win.
 
Despite the strong finish to the previous set, the Chanticleer offense tumbled woefully out of rhythm in the third and the Lady Demons took full advantage.
 
Coastal Carolina errors in gave the Lady Demons six of their first eight points of the set staking them to an 8-2 lead. Combined with the NSU offense finding its groove again the lead swelled to double figures at 17-7 on a Breanna Burrell kill. 
 
The lead was not safe however as the Chanticleers fell into sync and engineered a 14-4 stretch that tied the set at 21 putting the resolve of the young Demons to the test to avoid a sweep. Kills from Reagan Lee and Addison McDermott sandwiched the ninth error of the set by CCU. Burrell ponded home the set winner capping a 4-1 final stretch that extended the match to another set.
 
Sparked by the win the Lady Demons continued to push Coastal in the fourth. An ace from Autumn Gentry and kills from Lee and Wesley produced a run that tied the set at 7, then a pair of kills from Burrell and another from Wesley knotted things at 12 moments later.
 
The set stayed close from the beginning to the points where Idrogo found her team-leading 8^th kill tying things one final time at 14. Out of timeouts, NSU was unable to halt Coastal putting the match to rest with five kills and three blocks in their 11-1 sprint to 25 points.  
 
UTSA 3, NSU 0
 
The Roadrunners lived up to their moniker throughout the match, making one-sided runs in each of the three sets that either put them away or made it near impossible for the Lady Demons to respond.
 
Each set had similar beginnings with points being traded through the early serves and UTSA sprinting away behind a 9-1 run in the first, 10-2 stretch in the second and 11-1 run in the third.
 
The opening set established the pattern with which the match would follow the rest of the day. 
 
After falling behind early the Lady Demons used a 4-0 run on a couple of aces from Burrell and a Gentry kill to take an 8-6 lead. A kill from Quesnel made it an 11-10 game when the first long run of the match started for the Roadrunners.
 
An NSU error and consecutive Roadrunner aces started the 10-1 stretch that was the theme of the night.
 
After falling behind by five in the second set the Lady Demons made another push back with a three-point burst on a kill from Quesnel and solo block from Garcia-Rosa to make it a 14-12 game. Another kill from Garcia-Rosa, who matched Wesley for the team-lead with five, and a UTSA error got NSU within a point.
 
That's where the second run began for the Roadrunners, sparked by a block and two quick aces, they sprinted ahead 24-15 and closed it out two serves later with their 12^th kill of the set.
 
The Lady Demons appeared to be trying to repeat the effort from earlier in the day and respond with a third-set win after taking a 12-7 lead. Garcia-Rosa pushed NSU ahead by five with a kill and solo block on back-to-back serves.
 
The lead was erased on the next five serves starting the final 11-1 run that flipped the set on its head leading to the 25-15 set and match win.
 
The Lady Demons close the Ole Miss Invitational on Saturday afternoon against the Rebels at 2 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.