NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State dropped its final meeting with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi this season in straight sets 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-18) on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Demons displayed spurts of steady and productive offense, but were unable to maintain that level throughout the match and in critical moments late in the pivotal second set.
 
"We did some great things today but were just unable to be consistent with them," head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "You've got to be methodical. Defensively Corpus does things in a very specific way and you have a scout that we know can work against it so it is how consistent can you be in doing that. In execution and just remembering. You can't be in it and out of it and expect it to go your way."
 
Corpus' fast-paced offense got them out to early advantages in both the first and third sets. Down 8-4 in the first, the Demons showed their first burst of quality production with three kills, coming from three different players, as part of a 4-1 run that made it a one-point game.
 
A quick, three-point response by the Islanders dovetailed into a pair of 3-0 bursts in a 7-2 overall scoring run that stretch the lead to six. The Islanders had five kills during the run with only one of NSU's two points coming from a kill.
 
The Demons totaled seven kills in the first set compared to the 15 from the Islanders who allowed the Demons to string more than two points in a row in the first two sets just three times.
 
The top ranked dig team in the Southland collected 53 digs, with a match-best 21 in the first set, in the match to frustrate Demon attackers and keep plays alive for the quick offensive rebuttal.
 
"Going into the second we had a better understanding of when they are in trouble and how they are going to attack us and put ourselves in a much better position to win the set," Kiracofe said. "You can't win close sets unless you make plays, as basic as that sounds, and we have not been able to do that consistently this year. Taking the bad spots that we may find ourselves in and doing something smart with the ball so we can play defense and hopefully get another shot at scoring."
 
The teams traded sideouts through the middle part of the second set with the Demons bouncing between one and two-point deficits. Four straight Islander kills with the score sitting at 16-15 served as the tipping point for the set. The Demons had only one kill the rest of the set but got a pair of blocks, including a solo stop from Teresa Garza, to keep the Demons in striking distance.
 
Reaghan Thompson provided the lone kill late in the set as part of a 3-0 scoring run that brought the Demons close at 23-21. The Islanders responded with their 21^st kill of the set to break the run and finished the set with a block to take the 2-0 match lead.
NSU committed just two attack errors in the second set, produced 14 kills and outhit the Islanders in percentage with at. 387. They had four total hitting errors in the first two sets, the lowest total through two sets this season, but unable to turn a higher number of their 63 total swings during that time into points, allowing the Islanders to capitalize on their end. 
 
The Demons has a pair of four or more point scoring runs in the third set, but they followed Islanders runs of the same length and never led to a tie game or lead change. The Demons nearly closed the gap from an early deficit with a 6-1 stretch to pull within two points.
 
The middle-fueled run was started on a kill from Samaya Wesson and also included a pair of solo blocks from Deja Benjamin as well as a kill. She led the team with eight kills in the match and was the team's leading point scorer at 11.
 
The Islanders closed the door quickly however with consecutive blocks and two more kills from match leader Kyndal Payne to complete the sweep of the Demons.