NATCHITOCHES – It is somewhat fitting that the first week of class for Northwestern State would end with a test for the volleyball team.
 
With half the starting lineup from the 2023 gone and a total of six new players on the roster, Friday night's exhibition match against Louisiana Tech is a perfect way to see what kind of work the Demons have done in preseason practice thus far.
 
First serve is set for 6 p.m. from Prather Coliseum, capping off the first week of classes for Northwestern students with some friendly competition. The Demons and Bulldogs will play a four-set match, even if one side sweeps the first three sets.
 
While certainly not new to the lineup, two-time all-conference and new single-season block champion Reaghan Thompson is taking on a bit of a new role as one of the returners and elder statesmen of the Demon squad. 
 
"I am someone that people come to now since I'm considered a vet I guess," Thompson said, who was named to the preseason all-conference first team on Thursday. "Instead of me looking up to the older people I'm the one that people are looking at to sort of set the standard. So I'm more aware what I do and how I practice and bringing the energy and being someone that people feed from."
 
Thompson, along with seniors Teresa Garza, also a preseason all-conference pick, and Ashlyn Svoboda were named captains for the 2024 season. The trio make up three of the five total returning upperclassmen. Senior setter Amina Attra and junior outside Madisynne McQueen round out the third-year plus players for the Demons.
 
"We've got essentially a new team this year and it's been different for me being one of the more experience people we have back," Thompson said. "But I think we're more athletic as a whole this year and our hard work has gone through the roof. The culture is changing and I think this year is going to be really good and fall camp showed that."
 
Attra will have a new setting partner for the first time in two seasons in freshman Gabby Seeds and both have a handful of new options to send the ball to on the offensive end. As they continue to piece together the timing with their new hitters, the camaraderie the 2024 Demons have built off the court has already starting paying dividends.
 
"I thought camp was amazing," junior transfer Deja Benjamin said. "Learning things that I haven't before. It was definitely different for me but the chemistry on the court and off it has been amazing. Everybody knows that we have each other's back and when we're on the court we're only focused on that."
 
Benjamin and fellow transfer Samaya Wesson are new weapons in the middle for the Demons, with junior college transfer Olivia Bush adding a strong left-handed swing on the outside. All three will be making their Prather Coliseum debuts on Friday night aiming to showcase the progress made through just over two weeks of preseason training camp.
 
"I'm excited but I'm also nervous," Benjamin said. "This is going to be my first real game at NSU and it feels like a lot of pressure. But I'm excited because we've been working really hard and we have each other's back so no matter if we mess up it's next ball, let's go."
 
With so many new pieces and new roles scattered throughout the 14-player roster, a dry run match against a team they will see three weeks later during the annual Battle for the Boot tournament weekend gives the Demons a chance to iron out even more details before the season begins in earnest.
 
The goal with any competition is to win, but with the bigger picture in mind for the season as a whole.
 
"Chemisty and figuring out lineups," Thompson listed as her primary learning points from the exhibition. "Obviously it's not going to be perfect in the first game of the year. We have a whole new team and a bunch of the people in the starting lineup are new so figuring out those little kinks so we can be ready for Southern Miss next week."
 
The Demons open the 2024 season on Aug. 30 at 2 p.m. at Southern Miss with their first home match set for the following Tuesday against Jackson State on Sept. 3.