LAKE CHARLES – Northwestern State was unable to slow the efficient McNeese offense on Thursday night, falling to the Cowgirls in straight sets 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-15).
 
Although both teams finished with near identical attack error totals, the Demons (9-11, 5-4) were outkilled by McNeese in each of the three sets by an average of five. The Cowgirls finished with a modest, but still solid, .219 attack percentage but frustrated the NSU offense with 70 digs in the match and several more rally-saving plays.
 
The Cowgirls bookended the first set with a pair of long serving runs to seize control of and then close the frame.
 
A 7-0 run out of the gate, ushered along by five NSU errors, put the Cowgirls ahead 8-2 quickly. The Demons began to find their flow at the midpoint of the set with a string of kills from Teresa Garza, Breanna Burrell and Symone Wesley, but a late 7-2 stretch all but closed the door on the first set for McNeese.
 
The Demons held the edge through the first part of the second set, taking a 6-5 lead on back-to-back kills from Wesley. After a 5-1 run from McNeese flipped the lead to the home team, NSU responded immediately to recapture the lead.
 
Kills from Jordan Gamble and Madisynne McQueen started a 5-1 NSU answering run, with Wesley's third kill of the set putting the Demons back ahead 12-11. The teams traded points over the next seven serves until Burrell smashed a ball home off the block to tie the score at 15.
 
A McNeese kill and two straight Demon errors were enough to turn the momentum to the Cowgirls who rattled off eight straight points to sprint ahead 23-15 and eventually secure the set and the 2-0 match lead.
 
Four different McNeese scoring bursts of three or four points scattered throughout the third set kept the Demons from climbing out of an early deficit and building any momentum to do so. A couple of Cowgirl miscues and a Makenna Tryon kill got the Demons within a pair early on, the two straight blocks from Reaghan Thompson and Burrell made it a 12-10 affair, the closest NSU got the rest of the way.
 
Three straight McKenzie Moore kills, who led all players with 12 kills for McNeese, stretched the lead to five on a stretch of six straight Cowgirl points coming from kills. The Cowgirls closed the night with four straight points to finish the match and the sweep.
 
The Demons travel to Southeastern on Saturday at 11 a.m. to begin the second half of the Southland Conference schedule.