NATCHITOCHES – The most dangerous lead to have in a volleyball match in Prather Coliseum is two sets to one.
 
After seeing its 2-1 lead slip away two days prior, Northwestern State turned the tables on UIW on Saturday afternoon, winning the final two sets in a 3-2 (25-20, 20-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-7) victory over the Cardinals.
 
It was the third time in the past three NSU home matches where the team leading two sets to one ended up losing the match.
 
"UIW is a great defensive team," head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "They are extremely scrappy and don't let any ball drop and we got really passive and felt like we could throw the ball around and tip and win. That doesn't work against them and it allowed them to be aggressive with their swings and resulted in some blocks for us but some points for them as well."
 
As it has in nearly every match this season for the Demons (9-10, 5-3) it was their block that helped turn the tide in the critical moments late in the match. 
 
Although they did not climb all the way back to win the third set after falling behind by as much as six, NSU had four of their six total blocks in the set leading to a late 20-19 Demon lead. A Cardinal kill and an NSU error immediately flipped the lead back to UIW leading to a 6-2 closing run that put the Demons down a set after three. 
 
NSU middle La'Treva Kennedy connected with Teresa Garza and Tessa Gerwig on consecutive plays early in the fourth to help erase the 5-0 UIW run that started the set and toss an ember on the fire in team.
 
UIW's defense kept them in the match and helped them hold a late 22-20 lead before the first took hold for the Demons. Two kills from Symone Wesley tied things at 22 and after a Cardinal error Kennedy hooked up with Gerwig again for the fourth stop of the set making it 24-22 in favor of the Demons.
 
Gerwig sent the match to a fifth set with her fourth kill of the set two serves later.
 
"It's become an expectation for us," Kiracofe said. "They feed off the energy blocks provide like any team does, blocks are cool, that's what it is. To get them today, especially when we were struggling a little in serve receive to have something kind of ignite things and get us going was both needed and good to see."
 
The Demons added four more blocks in the shortened final frame to accompany their seven kills and one ace, leaving nearly no margin for error for the Cardinals.
 
Wesley converted a pair of kill on three attempts in the fifth set, joining Breanna Burrell and Garza with two kills each without an error. NSU had just four unforced hitting errors in the final two sets of the match, after 11 in the first three sets combined.
 
"It came down to a group mental and emotional decision of are we going to allow this to keep going a way we're not happy with or are we going to turn around and prove that we're the better team," Kiracofe said. "That's what I told them after the match. You have to make a decision on what you think you are and be stubborn with it. It's impossible to win every point but you have to be stubborn in your belief that you're good and you're going to beat the other team."
 
The Demons finished with 19 blocks, their second highest total of the season, getting 14 in the final three sets. Reaghan Thompson finished with eight rejections giving her 102 for the season and making her the third player in program history to have consecutive 100-block seasons.
 
Five players had five or more blocks in the match, led by Thompson and Gerwig's eight each, a new career high mark for Gerwig. Kennedy had five stops in just the fourth and fifth sets.
 
Setter Amina Attra turned in her fifth straight assist-dig double-double, one of three double-double performances in the match along with Wesley (13 kill, 22 dig) and Garza (13 kill, 13 dig). Libero Ashlyn Svobda led the team with 24 digs, her fifth 20-dig match of the season and fourth in the last five matches.