CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The first objective for Northwestern State as it enters the 2023 Southland Conference is as simple as it can be if it hopes to make a run to Sunday and the championship match.
 
"Get your minds right," head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "We know that we can go out there and compete with anybody and specifically Commerce. When we played them there it went five and it was a battle that went back and forth. When we played our way we were able to put them in bad situations and run away with those sets that we won, both there and at home."
 
As the Demons (13-16, 9-9), the No. 5 seed in this year's tournament, take on the No. 8 seeded Texas A&M-Commerce they will do it with that confidence knowing the most recent meeting was a one-sided affair and a 3-0 sweep in Natchitoches.
 
First serve of the first match of the 2023 SLC Tournament is set for 3 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.
 
NSU won the meeting three weeks ago against the Lions in a slightly different way that the rest of their victories this season, but in a way that has and will be a big decider in Thursday's meeting.
 
NSU delivered 11 service aces against the Lions, the most in a conference match this season,  and only picked up a pair of blocks, the lowest total in a conference match for the league's top blocking team.
 
"It's about being aggressive with our serves and making them have to move to be good passers," Kiracofe said. "When we can disrupt that, which we can and shown that we can, things go our way."
 
Their aggressiveness from the service line led to a .252 team hitting percentage with minimal attack errors and also included a 17-kill third set to close out the match with a convincing win. NSU will need that kind of efficiency on Thursday to advance to Friday's quarterfinal match against HCU.
 
Teresa Garza remains NSU's top offensive choice with more than 1,000 attempts on the season, the most in the conference and just outside the top 10 for most in a single season at NSU. Her 281 kills leads the team and, along with her 71 total blocks, third most on the team and most by an outside hitter in the conference, she ranks in the top 10 in the conference in points per set.
 
Her and the rest of the NSU attackers abilities to diagnose and attack the Lion defense will be second on the list of importance for a Demon tournament win.
 
"The way they (Commerce) move in and out of different defenses can be a challenge," Kiracofe said. "Just remembering where they were on the play before and what they may be in for this ball. But if we communicate well with each other between points with just reminders we should be able to be on top of that."
 
The lowest seed to ever win the Southland tournament was a five seed, including when the Demons won the title on their home floor in 2014.