NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State battled to a 3-0 (25-17, 33-31, 25-22) sweep of New Orleans on Thursday afternoon for its eighth home win of the season.
 
The Demons (10-12, 6-5) could not have asked for a better start than scoring the first eight points of the match including three aces from Teresa Garza and scoring six kills on their first seven total swings.
 
The scrappy Privateers however settled into the match, controlled their service receptions and pushed the Demons in the final two sets forcing NSU to convert in late, critical rallies, something that has eluded them over the past handful of matches.
 
"Certainly happy with the win and good to see us close out a set that goes into extra innings so to speak like that second one did," head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "If I'm nit picking things we could have closed it out sooner but to UNO's credit they are a scrappy team that keeps plays alive and did some things after that first set disrupt the normal flow of the set. But we were able to defend it more than not and happy to pull out two close sets at the end there."
 
The 8-0 run to start the match and another 6-1 stretch near the midpoint gave the Demons a commanding 18-7 edge in the set. 
 
Breanna Burrell's six kills on nine total swings in the set propelled the hot start for the Demons as she used every tool in her arsenal, along with some extra motivation after the loss of her friend Ronnie Caldwell a week prior
 
"Coming out and being able to get this win really meant a lot to us and me especially since I was close to Ronnie" Burrell said. "It's been a tough week but we're playing for something a lot bigger now and the game is so much different. We have something bigger to play for and we're making it through it day by day."
 
Burrell finished with a season-best 15 kills to lead the team, connecting on six in the first and five more in the second.
 
NSU trailed for the majority of the second set and found themselves down 22-19 as the Privateers eyed a match-tying set victory. A UNO attack error and kills from Symone Wesley and Jordan Gamble evened the score at 22 and set in motion a thrilling race to the finish.
 
Both teams had two set points after the 25-point mark with the Demons getting a third chance after two straight kills from Reaghan Thompson and Teresa Garza made it 29-28. The teams then alternated points over the next five serves before NSU was finally able to close the set with another pair of kills.
 
Burrell and Garza finished the second 30-plus point set in favor of the Demons at 33-31. Garza had three kills and Thompson had two kills after the teams reached 25 points.
 
"It was really just a point by point thing," Thompson said. "We would just keep telling each other let's go, next point, next point. We were much more clutch today than we have been of late. We've had some problems finishing and this game was a lot better, coming back one and continuing to rally."
 
Up 11-10 in the third set, the Demons began creating some space as the offensive clicked into gear over the final stretch run. 
 
A block from Thompson and Burrell provided a jolt for three kills in a row, two from Burrell and another on a dump from Amina Attra, helping push the lead to five at 18-13. NSU held the margin until a late 3-0 burst from the Privateers tightened the set, getting the second two point on a pair of Demon errors.
 
After another error tied the set at 22, the Demons regained focus quickly, getting a clutch kill from Gamble who then connected with Wesley for the Demons' 10^th block of the match, setting the stage for Garza to close the match with her 10^th kill of the night.
 
Garza finished with her eighth double-double of the season, adding a team-leading 18 digs to her 10-kill day. As a team NSU reached double-digit blocks for the 12^th time this season.