NEW ORLEANS – Northwestern State crossed step one off its list in more ways than one with Thursday's win against New Orleans.
 
First and foremost, the 3-2 win against the Privateers secured the Lady Demons' (14-12, 7-8) spot in the Southland Conference Tournament that begins in two weeks. It also served as the first "moving day" type of win for NSU down the stretch of the season against a team it will see again in just over a day's time.
 
Round two between NSU and UNO takes place on Saturday on the lake front with a 1 p.m. first serve. The match can be seen on ESPN+ with live stat links also available through www.nsudemons.com.
 
"It's going to be interesting to see how this particular back-to-back schedule plays out," head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "We had one earlier this year with Nicholls but there was a bit of an extended period between the matches. So, to do it right away within a matter of 48 hours it'll be different."
 
The Lady Demons have their eyes set on improving their seed in the conference tournament with just three matches remaining. While a spot in the top four may be out of reach, Saturday's match could determine who lands in the fifth spot come Nov. 17.
 
The Privateers currently sit one game ahead of the Demons for the fifth seed meaning another NSU win would give the Demons the coveted head-to-head tiebreaker at the end of the year.
 
Following Thursday's match and the adjustments made during, the Lady Demons will look to clean up some of the attacking errors that proved costly during the early parts of the first three sets.
 
Combined with a better feel for how UNO likes to attack after seeing it for five sets, the Lady Demons enter the battle for the fifth seed with the edge.
 
"Practice matters and this (Thursday's win) was the best practice for Saturday," Kiracofe said. "To be able to turn right back around and see them again, I feel like we have the advantage. Their outsides are good in that they move the ball around well, and the same goes for their rights. I believe that's something we can put ourselves in a position to have a better idea what they're doing now that we've seen it in real time."
 
Five different players had 10 or more digs in the match including double-doubles from both setters and a second straight 20-dig match from Addison McDermott, setting new career highs in consecutive matches.
 
Reaghan Thompson and Breanna Burrell put the hammer down in the fifth set, scoring or helping on nine of the 15 points needed between the two of them in the latest version of NSU's five-set mettle. 
 
"She's clutch when it matters but I think that can happen in any set," Kiracofe said specifically of Thompson's performance. "We know that we want to go to her because we feel like we have an advantage with her in the fifth. If we can pass well and get her the ball in a lot of situations there aren't too many teams that can put something up on a consistent basis that are going to be able to stop her."