NATCHITOCHES – All the things that have been working so well for Northwestern State across the past three weeks were on display once again Saturday in a fourth straight sweep and seventh straight overall win.
 
The Demons (7-7, 3-0) quickly and efficiently dispatched Nicholls (2-10, 0-2) in straight sets, 25-23, 25-12, 25-13, with yet another balanced and relentless offense, suffocating defense at the net and in the back row, and aggressive service.
 
"We came in today really wanting to force things through the middle, because we have been really good there and because most teams are going to have some sort of game plan to slow Reaghan (Thompson) down," head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "Whether they did or not we felt like we were going to be able to win that matchup and allow us to go the pins and continue that success we've seen lately." 
 
NSU got 10 combined kills from the two sophomore middles, Thompson and Jordan Gamble, to go along with their 10 combined blocks, six from Gamble and four from Thompson, opening the door once again for the outside attack.
 
Six different players recorded four or more kills, led by Breanna Burrell's nine, marking the second match in the last seven where the Demons won a match without having a player record double-figure kills.
 
In the only contested-to-the-end set of the match, the Demons got two kills or more from each of their six attackers, but allowed the Colonels to stay in the match with seven attack errors. The Colonels never led in the set but did pull within a point after the Demons led 21-16. Kills from Gamble, Thompson and Teresa Garza down the stretch kept the Demons out front enough to finish the first 25-23.
 
The Demons committed just seven attack errors the remainder of the match to turn in their best team hitting performance of the season at .303, behind a .480 second set that included five kills during an early 10-0 run with Thompson serving.
 
During the run she picked up two of her career-high three aces as the Demons reached double-figure aces for the second match this season with 10. Piper Boydstun delivered three straight aces to start the match and Amina Attra picked up three of her own, matching a career high.
 
"I've always been taught that the name of the game is pass and serve," Thompson said. "We have a lot of great servers on our team and we have a lot of confidence within each other no matter who's back there."
 
Two of Attra's aces came in an early 13-2 stretch in the third as the Demons sprinted to a commanding 12-3 advantage in the final set. 
 
Burrell and Tessa Gerwig where the go-to options to complete the sweep, each recording four kills with no errors. Burrell had a new career-best .643 hitting percentage with a team-leading nine kill on 14 error-free swings. She was one of five different players with six or more kills in the match and one of eight different players with a kill.
 
"I love the games like this one where the kills are all spread out like that," Thompson said. "Everybody was in and locked in and ready to play."
 
The seventh straight win for the Demons is the second longest winning streak in program history. The four straight sweeps matches the longest such streak in program history set in 2003.