HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The start of the 2024 season for Northwestern State volleyball brings the traditional levels of excitement for the players but also a reunion for head coach Sean Kiracofe.
 
The Demons open the regular season with a doubleheader against Southern Miss (1:30 p.m.) and Southern (4:30 p.m.) before a Saturday date with Jacksonville (12 p.m.) to close the weekend. 
 
Only Northwestern's match against the Golden Eagles will air on ESPN+ with updates for the other two matches available on Twitter/X or via live stats links on nsudemons.com.
 
"Having it be my senior season and getting to play it with Ashlyn (Svoboda) and Amina (Attra) it's just so special," outside hitter Teresa Garza said. "I played my senior year of high school with them on our club team and we've had such a strong bond from then to now. So getting to do this together one more time, I can't wait."
 
The three seniors on the 2024 team have helped integrate a group of new players that are expected to make immediate impact and contribution on opening weekend. Transfers Samaya Wesson, Deja Benjamin, Olivia Bush all played in every set of the Demons' exhibition match against Louisiana Tech a week, and will be looked to for both offensive and defensive production out of the gate.
 
Wesson and Benjamin combined for 11 kills and 13 block assists out of the middle during the match against Tech as they aim to provide the same level of defensive, and offensive, consistency the Demons have come to expect from the position.
 
"I think for having half the team being relatively new and that being the first time really playing against someone like that it was pretty decent," Wesson said of the performance in the exhibition. "I think we can definitely do so much better and there is going to be a lot better to come once we get into the season and get our rhythm going. 
 
"I wouldn't say that I'm too nervous about my first match, especially after the exhibition. But I think it's going to be interesting to see how everything plays out and how what we've worked on this week shows growth wise from how we played against Tech."
 
Entering his 10^th season as the Demons' head coach, Sean Kiracofe is equally as anxious to see how the modifications made to defensive work and positioning advances from the pseudo week zero match and the opener.
 
"Excited for the season to start but a little impatient on wanting to fix a few things that I think are very fixable after our exhibition last week," Kiracofe said. "But ready to see how we go from last Friday to this Friday and how we make a few minor corrections to put ourselves in a position to force teams to earn some points."
 
The first two matches on Friday give the Demons the chance to see how the adjustments from preseason to in season are progressing. While the third match with Jacksonville on Saturday afternoon offers much of the same on the young season, it also provides a little extra for Kiracofe.
 
The Dolphins head coach, in her first season, is Alicia Roth, an assistant at NSU under Kiracofe during his first two seasons in Natchitoches in 2015 and 2016.
 
"With any assistant you have your ideas and thoughts on doing this or that, this player should play this way or make this change and as a head coach you disagree," Kiracofe laughed. "I had those conversations during my time as an assistant and thought as soon as I can do it on my own, I'm going to do it like this. So, I'll love to see all those things from nine years ago that we talked about to see what it looks like on the other side of the net. Even that potential I told you so moment on either side."
 
After leaving NSU following the 2016 season, Roth coached at Arkansas State, Mercer and most recently was an assistant at Pittsburgh that advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament this past season.
 
"It's fun to be able to see people grow within the profession," Kiracofe said. "I'm happy for her and it will be great to coach against her and it'll be a lot like friendships that have been made within the conference. You don't want to lose to them because it hurts a little more from that friendly competitive nature. It means a little bit more when you're competing against friends. It's going to be fun."