THIBODAUX – After falling behind two sets to none on the road Saturday afternoon, Northwestern State stormed back behind a record-setting offensive performance for a 3-2 (21-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-7) win against Nicholls.
 
The Demons (11-12, 7-5) committed just two unforced errors over the final three sets, hitting an absurd .639 over the final two, to finish with a team attack percentage of .364, the best in a five-set match in program history and the first time going over .300 in five sets since 2019.
 
After grabbing the momentum on a 6-1 run in the fourth to send the match to a decisive fifth set, the Demons put on an offensive clinic in the critical final frame. NSU score 11 kills, of the 15 needed points, on just 14 total attempts without committing and error or being blocked by the Colonel defense.
 
"The execution in the fifth set was amazing," head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "I can't put a finger on why that wasn't there at earlier points in the match, but it was definitely there when we had to have it. Like last season, we thrive in five so this team has earned the ability to be calm and collected at the end of matches like that."
 
NSU's offensive showcase didn't just suddenly appear in the late sets, it was present throughout the match, hitting .216 in the opening set, their lowest total of the day. The Demons committed a match high five errors in the first set. What made the match so thrilling was that Nicholls brought the same kind of efficiency and execution for most of the day.
 
The Colonels averaged nearly 18 kills per set through the first four frame with hitting percentages above .220 in two of them and over .310 in the other two.
 
The difference came down to the Demons' experience in the pressure moments and their ability to execute when it absolutely mattered the most.
 
NSU trailed for much of the fourth set, after holding off a late Colonel rally to win the third. Down 22-19 it was the clutch moments from sophomore middle Jordan Gamble that helped push the Demons over the top.
 
She had her hand in on two blocks and added a kill on a 3-0 burst that put the Demons ahead 23-22. After a Colonel kill evened things back at 23 and a service error gave NSU set point, Gamble stepped to the serving line and sent the match to the fifth with the first of her three aces that came in the final 16 points of the match, one in the fourth and two more in the fifth.
 
"In the late sets, my biggest focus was on seizing the moment, on and off the net," Gamble said. "It's in those critical plays where the heart of the game beats strongest, and we were determined to keep the rhythm in our favor, both in offense and defense. Getting the W feels great for sure."
 
She added two kills in the early part of the fifth to get the Demons to a hot start and had another kill and ace in the final five points to give NSU the win.
 
Gamble accounted for seven total points in the 10 total at the end of the fourth and fifth sets.
 
"Jordan had a great match," Kiracofe said. "Everyone in the conference knows they need to do something to slow down both of our middles and Nicholls did a good job of coming out with a defensive gameplan to do that. Jordan kept finding ways to score despite that defensive attention. 
 
"She also stepped up with some defensive plays and was really big from the service line in the later sets when we needed it the most."
 
NSU had five players with nine or more kills in the match, Ashlyn Svoboda led the defense with 19 digs and setter Piper Boydstun became the ninth player in program history to record 1,500 career assists.