NATCHITOCHES – Following a third consecutive sweep and sixth straight win, Northwestern State returns home on Saturday looking to continue what has been working the past two weeks.
 
The Demons (6-7, 2-0) host Nicholls (2-9, 0-1) at 1 p.m. in Prather Coliseum as they look for their fifth home win of the season in six tries and to extend their winning streak to seven, which would be the second longest in program history.
 
The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ and there will be no charge for admission for fans wishing to attend in person.
 
With their 3-0 road sweep of New Orleans on Thursday, the Demons matched their longest winning streak from a year ago of six that carried them through the end of the regular season and into the first two round of the Southland Conference Tournament.
 
While there has been significantly less drama in the current streak, with only one five-set match as opposed to five from the one a year ago, there are plenty of other similarities. The most notable being, and the one that stand to make the Demons a formidable opponent for anyone the rest of the year, is the balanced scoring attack from all over the floor.
 
No player had more than 15 kills in a single match, despite going the full five sets in nearly all of them, during the six-match streak a year ago. During the current run it has only happened once when Teresa Garza hammered home 19 in the thrilling win over Southeastern. The team high in kills in any other match was, also Garza, when she had 14 against UNO.
 
Breanna Burrell led the Demons with eight kills in the sweep of Grambling. Proof that the offensive weapons, and the vast number of them, are clicking on all cylinders.
 
What makes the Demon offense that much more formidable is they have not had a player hit below .200 in either of the past two matches, no one has had more than three attack errors, forced or unforced, with nine instances of an attacker recording five or more kills during those matches.
 
The balance on offense bears out in the overall numbers compared to the first seven matches of the year. Even with a difference in the level of competition after the likes of playing now No. 7 ranked Washington State and receiving votes UCLA, the production levels across the board have risen noticeably.
 
In their last six matches, which contain nearly the same number of sets, the Demons already have 60 more kills and converting 3.3 more kills per set than they were through the first seven matches of the year.
 
A large part of that jump in production is the 33-point increase in serve reception percentage and the 4.26 per set increase in the number of digs. The Demons have jumped to second in the Southland in digs per set at 15.53 led by libero Ashlyn Svoboda's second ranked 4.14 per set average. She is one of just two players in the league with a dig per set average greater than four.
 
NSU has won the previous seven straight meetings against Nicholls in Natchitoches.