HOUSTON, Texas – The Northwestern State Demons' volleyball team fell to the Houston Christian Huskies 3-0 (25-17, 25-18 and 25-15) Saturday afternoon at Sharp Gym in Southland Conference.

The Demons (1-25, 0-12 SLC) hung tough in the opening set as junior Jade Longlad recorded her Southland leading 45^th ace with NSU trailing 12-10. However, the Huskies (12-13, 7-5 SLC) began to take control of the set, despite NSU's Deja Benjamin's four kills in the first set, taking the opening frame by eight points.

NSU opened the second frame taking a 9-4 lead before HCU quickly scored six straight points to take the lead. The Huskies extended their lead to 18-14 before NSUs Makenna Tryon got a block followed by two straight attack errors by HCU to cut it to 18-17. But the Huskies scored five straight points to take a 23-17 lead before winning the set.

In the third frame, the Huskies opened with a 7-4 lead following a bad set by the Demons. HCU continued to pull away as they led 19-12 late following a kill by Allana Archie before winning the final set by 10.

The Demons were led by Olivia Bush with eight kills while Benjamin had seven. Julia Whitfied and Samaya Wesson both had five kills. Longlad added 21 assists while Harper Cauley had 14 digs to aid the defense.

"We battle every night," said Demon head coach Ben Kaszeta. "I'm proud of our team's effort. Olivia (Bush) keeps finding ways to score. And Julia (Whitfield) is developing well. We will get there. It just takes time. If we keep fighting with that passion, good things will come."

HCU got 11 kills form Katy Barger and 10 from Hannah Redrow. Madison Hess had 35 assists while Chloe Richard chipped in with 13 digs as the Huskies swept the season series from the Demons.

Next up, the Demons return home for a matchup Thursday night against East Texas A&M at 6:30 p.m.