HOUSTON – After traversing nearly 4,400 miles over this past weekend to play at Washington State, a travel-worn Northwestern State takes to the road once again for a midweek match against Texas Southern.
 
Following a tough weekend of competition in the Cougar Challenge the Demons (0-7) are still in search of their first win on the season but poised to make that happen on Tuesday night. First serve is against the Tigers set for 6 p.m. in Houston and the match will be streamed live on YouTube on the Texas Southern Athletics channel. A link to the stream is available at nsudemons.com.
 
Against some stiff competition over the weekend, NSU showed flashes of honing in the execution, both offensively and defensively, it has been searching for consistency in during the young season.
 
The Demons hit a season-best .237 against Tulsa and had two players, Teresa Garza and Tessa Gerwig, who share identical 2.14 kill per set averages to lead the team, reach double-figure kills in a match for the first time this year. The 40 kills and 49 digs were the most in a three-set match thus far this year as well.
 
NSU also reached double-digit blocks as a team for the second time this year, and first in a three-set match, with 13 stops against Drake. Reaghan Thompson led the way with nine blocks in the match and leads the Southland Conference with a 1.36 block per set average. The Demons have the second-ranked team average in the league at 2.32 per set. 
 
"We made some big improvements over the weekend but at times got in our own way," head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "If and when we get on runs against Texas Southern, I want to see us make them do something to make a stop rather than help them out.
 
"This is Coach Austin's second season and you can tell that now having that time with the team they are moving towards her style of play. They do a couple unique things on offense that we have seen a little of this year but not as consistently as what TSU runs it. That will be good for our defense and block to get reps reading and adjusting to different offensive playsets."
 
Following the taxing trip, the Demons should also receive a jolt from this trip's location. 
 
With nine players hailing from the greater Houston area, there stands to be a strong contingent of family and friends on hand to provide a little extra boost of energy after a physically demanding trip to the Pacific Northwest. And energy has been a strong catalyst for the Demons' moments of success thus far this season.
 
In front of the record-setting crowd inside Prather Coliseum against UCLA, the Demons played perhaps their best match of the season from and execution and consistency standpoint. The defensive efforts provided by La'Treva Kennedy, both at the net and on the back row, sparked the Demons on multiple occasions against a disciplined Drake team. Thunderous kills from the likes of Reaghan Thompson, Teresa Garza and Tessa Gerwig have also provided prolonged periods of juice for the team throughout the season.