NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State took a leap forward in many ways during its three-match opening weekend and looks to keep that momentum in Tuesday's home opener.
 
The Demons (2-1) earned 3-1 wins in their final two matches of the Southern Miss Invitational against Southern and Jacksonville behind a pair of breakout offensive performances on the outside, attacking effectiveness from multiple other sources and above all and consistent urgency in their play.
 
"Couldn't be happier about the weekend," head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "Really proud of the group. Southern Miss was really physical like we thought. It was shaky on both sides of the net but the biggest thing was that we fought to the end in that match. There was a different energy level on the court in those late set points compared to what we had seen against Louisiana Tech. Happy to see that competitive fight for points the entire time."
 
Northwestern's two powerhouse outsides, Teresa Garza and Reaghan Thompson, led the charge through opening weekend with 79 combined kills, a nearly 50/50 split between the two, with more than a 3.25 kills per set average.
 
Thompson led the charge in the win against Southern with the first 20-kill match by a Demon since 2019, in only her second match at a pin hitter, helping her earn SLC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Garza carried the load in the win against Jacksonville state with 17 kills, including an impressive .428 hitting percentage in the middle two sets.
 
Both averaged a double-double for the weekend and both were named to the Southern Miss Invitational All-Tournament Team.
 
"In women's volleyball you have to good on the outside to be able to win," Kiracofe said. "And then be good in some other positions, whether that's the right side or middle, to really be a good team. Having Reaghan and Teresa out there is always going to give us a fighting chance. Reaghan has looked phenomonal in a very short amount of time of being an outside and Teresa we know is good and can do everything for us and showed that this weekend."
 
Olivia Bush on the right side, Samaya Wesson and Deja Benjamin in the middle and the occasional "dumps" from setters Amina Attra and Gabby Seeds provided plenty of offensive variety through three matches that will continue to grow and improve through the season.
 
Attra and Seeds combined for 12 kills in three matches this weekend, nearly half the total from all of last season for NSU setters.
 
"Jacksonville was smart in how they tried to attack us defensively and commit blocked out to Reaghan and it was up to our setters to be able to not get into default mode to the outside every time," Kiracofe said. "Being able to force things in the middle or to the right side, taking that information from the bench or from what they were seeing on the court and make that opposing defense pay for the committed defense they did a really good job of that. And then our other hitters produced when they needed to. It was all good stuff."
 
The Demons aim to continue that trend balanced attack on Tuesday night when they host Jackson State in the first home match of the 2024 season. First serve is set for 6 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.
 
Like NSU, the Tigers got off to a stellar start to the year with a pair of wins in their opening weekend in Lafayette, including take down the Ragin Cajuns in four sets in their home opener.
 
Jackson State, also like NSU, has a spread-out attack with four players with more than 20 kills through three matches, all with better than 2.1 kill per set averages. The Tigers hit .234 across their final two sets in the win over UL Lafayette, led by Jordan Jones' 11 kills on 19 error-free swings.
 
"They're always at the top of their conference and they always play us tough," Kiracofe said. "Definitely not a match where we can go out there and look forward to Lafayette and Houston this weekend. They've started the season fantastic and we're going to have to come in an earn points. Each year they keep getting better and better and have more options and we are a new team in how we are playing defense and blocking. We've done some great things but that still breaks down at times. We're going to have to be on top of what we're doing."