SAN ANTONIO – Northwestern State battled back and forth in yet another close match Thursday night, only to succumb once again to ill-timed mistakes allowing UIW to pick up the 3-0 (26-24, 25-20, 25-19) win.
 
"We got in our own way and didn't allow ourselves a chance to win," head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "Brea had another solid night offensively, but outside of that we were just a little below average in a lot of areas which just compounded as those little things added up over time."
 
Down 23-20 late in the first set, the Lady Demons (6-11, 0-2) put together a run that nearly gave them the 1-0 match lead. Sophomores Audrey Quesnel and Breanna Burrell combined for three kills and a block in the four-point swing that presented NSU with the first set point of the night.
 
After a Cardinal kill evened the score at 24 forcing extra points, the Lady Demons had two opportunities to move back on top. Two attack errors, both missed hits by NSU, sent the critical points in the other direction resulting in a frustrating 26-24 opening-set loss. The Lady Demons committed a match-low five errors in the set, two coming in the final two points.
 
NSU had to work its way back from a four-point deficit in the second set after a 6-0 run by the Cardinals put them ahead 14-10. Three straight kills from Burrell and Jaylibeth Garcia-Rosa followed by a UIW error even the game at 17, bringing the Lady Demons all the way back.
 
After a pair of UIW kills and an answer from Burrell, four straight points went to the Cardinals, two coming on services aces, that turned a one-point game into a 23-18 affair. Burrell added the eighth of her team-leading 11 kills on the night before the set ended, but two more kills from UIW gave it the 2-0 match lead. 
 
It was a 5-1 run in the third set that put the Lady Demons ahead erasing an early five-point deficit. A kill from Reagan Lee brought NSU within a point with Burrell tying the game at 11 and Piper Boydstun pushing ahead with an ace.
 
Just as quickly as they pulled ahead however, the Lady Demons found themselves trailing again after an 8-1 Cardinal run vaulted them back on top and in the driver's seat.
 
NSU made one final push picking up kills from Garcia-Rosa and Burrell, but a third would not fall in the Demons' favor as Burrell's ball bounced off the block and net rolling to the right and falling at her feet, a swing that easily could have made it a two-point game.
 
The Cardinals finished the match with another late-set ace and a kill to complete the sweep.
 
Burrell and Garcia-Rosa were the offensive pillars on the night combining for 16 kills and a .406 attack percentage. Boydstun just missed her fifth double-double of the season with 16 assists and nine digs. Haley Hoang collected 12 digs on the night, eight coming in the final set.
 
The Lady Demons travel to Corpus Christi on Saturday to take on the Islanders at 1 p.m.