NATCHITOCHES, La. – The Northwestern State Demons' volleyball team was defeated by the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders in the season finale, 3-0 (25-19, 25-19 and 25-18) Saturday afternoon at Prather Coliseum for Senior Day.
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Prior to the match, the Demons (1-29, 0-16 SLC) honored three seniors, Samaya Wesson, Makenna Tryon and Deja Benjamin as the trio played their final game for NSU.

"The three of them were willing to try new things all year long," said Demon head coach Ben Kaszeta. "All three came in and said they would do anything to try and help the program and for that I will always appreciate those three."

As for the match, the Demons came out ready to compete as they led 12-11 in the first set after a kill by Tryon. NSU fell behind 15-12 before tying the match at 16-16 after a kill by Benjamin. However, the Islanders (12-17, 8-8 SLC) scored seven of the next eight points to take a 23-17 lead before clinching the first set.

In the second frame, the Demons were right there once again as they trailed 14-12 following a kill by Wesson. NSU stayed within two points after a another kill Wesson at 19-17. But the Islanders scored four straight points to keep NSU at arm's length before winning set two.

The third set was much of the same as the Demons were within striking distance, 15-13, after an ace by Benjamin. But the Islanders scored five of the next six points to take control, 20-14 before clinching the match on an NSU attack error.

"There's a lot to learn to come in and out of the season," said Kaszeta. "There was a big learning  curb this year that I thought at times we were showing with how close we were in a lot of sets. One thing that every good coach will tell you about is the process, not just the win. Our goal is to get kids in and out of this program that are better human beings not just better volleyball players. It's still hard and gut-wrenching to know we had a lot of chances in a lot of matches but just missed. But overall, this season was about laying the foundation of the program long term."

NSU was led by Wesson with eight kills while Benjamin, Tryon and Olivia Bush all had six. Jade Long finished the match with 22 assists and had an ace for her 50^th of the season which was second in the Southland. Emmarie McFarland led the Demons' defense with eight digs while Bush also had three blocks.

Stayed tuned as the Demons and Kaszeta will be announcing several additions to the 2026 roster in the coming days.