COLUMBIA, Mo. – Northwestern State volleyball makes its first trip to the state of Missouri since 2018 this weekend. The Lady Demons, however, took on the Show-Me State nickname a week early with their opening weekend performance.
 
NSU (2-1) looks to build on the encouraging weekend as it faces Missouri State (10 a.m.) and former Southland Conference foe Abilene Christian (3 p.m.) on Friday before finishing the weekend with host Missouri on Saturday. 
 
Only the final match against the Tigers will be available to watch with a 12:30 p.m. start time set for SEC Network+. All matches will have live stat links available on the NSU website or social media platforms.
 
On a weekend filled with firsts for many of this year's eight newcomers, the young squad showed the resilience of a battled-tested group with a pair of intense five-set wins out of three matches at the Texan Invitational.
 
"When you have experienced outsides, in theory, you should always be in a position to be able to win close situations, sets or matches like that," head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "But with so many new faces out there you just never know how they're going to respond and execute as a group. For them to go out there and do it twice feels great."
 
Kiracofe added that is was a testament to the team, "deciding we aren't going to give up, we're going to keep pushing," but the writing was already on the wall for a strong opening weekend even after a shortened timeline between the first practice and the first serve.
 
"This preseason camp was one of the best that I've been a part of," senior Addison McDermott said. "Just the team chemistry, the love of volleyball that I think everyone shares and the competitive nature that we have really allowed us to go into the first weekend and do so well."
 
NSU was efficient and effective at the net on both the offensive and defensive sides. The .218 team hitting percentage was the third best in the Southland after opening weekend and the 3.0 block per set average topped the league and ranked 16^th in the country.
 
A record-setting 20-block match in the finale against Fairleigh Dickinson certainly helped the average, but the Demons were sitting at a 2.4 per set average before that match started with 19 stuffs through the first eight sets of the year.
 
The freshman combination of Jordan Gamble and Reaghan Thompson were the key components of the formula, combining for 31 of the 39 total blocks on the weekend. Thompson was named defensive player of the week after totaling 19 rejections on the weekend, including 10 against FDU, helping NSU take firm control in key moments. 
 
"We really battled back and forth in those first two sets but when we got to the third, I think we started to realize we could take advantage of them having played a five-set match right before," Thompson said. "I remember us saying to each other stop tipping and just swing, and I think we all just locked in and started playing the volleyball we know how to play."
 
The duo are the first examples of NSU renewed size and athleticism of the team in the 2022 season, attributes that will be put to the test against a perennially success-filled mid-major opponent in Missouri State and the Power 5 host Mizzou.
 
"I'm excited for this weekend," Thompson said. "We're playing some big teams which will be fun and give us a chance to learn a lot from these matches."
 
 The last time the Lady Demons played Missouri the Tigers were ranked No. 15 in the country and on a 35-match regular season unbeaten streak. Assistant coach Stacey Aldredge was a senior on that 2014 team that knocked off the Tigers in straight sets in the second match of the season before going on to claim the Southland Tournament championship.