MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Northwestern State earned an opening-day split on Friday with a 3-2 (12-25, 25-18, 25-22, 19-25, 15-10) thrilling win against Tennessee State and straight set loss to host Memphis 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-19) in the nightcap.
 
The win in the match against the Tigers from Tennessee State (0-2) was the first Division I win in the career of first-year head coach Ben Kaszeta.
 
"It feels nice, and don't get me wrong when I say this, but that's not really what we focused on," he said. "We focus on trying to be successful. Picking things that we know will help us win in conference.
 
"I think that and the passion we played with today it was good. We had so much nervous energy today. No other way of saying it than we are just all over the place in some different parts of that match, but it felt good. It felt good to see them succeed together today."
 
That nervous energy for four first-time starters and six first-time players at the Division I level showed itself in a one-sided 25-12 set one loss to Tennessee State. The tide turned however in the second set as the young Demons steadily found their volleyball legs.
 
The Demons held TSU to a negative hitting percentage in the second set and did not allow them to hit over .120 in a set the rest of the match. Led by the quick-footed defensive back line and freshman libero Emmarie McFarland and the veteran shot stoppers at the net, the Demons settled into a five-set thriller in match one of the season.
 
"They (Tennessee State) beat us up in that first set. We were all over the place," Kaszeta said. "We did a great job I thought in the huddle of the upperclassmen said OK guys we got this. We're ok. Emmarie did a fabulous job of calming herself down enough that we could play a little bit more consistent in game two.
 
"Early on our focus was all it was all over and like we were trying to fix 12 things all at once. We simplified it a bunch in game two and three and then when we got to game five I just said go play, let it take care of itself. Do what you know how to do. Pass the ball in serve receive and see what happens. They kept their heads, served aggressively and that made a big difference."
 
Those aggressive serves led to more consistent block opportunities, playing into one of the strengths of the Demons, middles Deja Benjamin and Samaya Wesson. Benjamin collected two of her six blocks in the match to bookend a 6-0 NSU run late in the second set that helped push the Demons to a 25-18 set win.
 
Wesson took the reins in the third, scoring both offensively and defensively to help NSU stave off a major comeback from the Tigers. NSU dominated to a 20-10 lead before a 12-2 run tied things at 22. The Demons, behind the combo of Wesson and setter Reagan Hamm, silenced the rally with three straight points, two Wesson kills and a block, with the duo involved in all three points.
 
Wesson had four kills on four error-free swings and two of her match-high eight blocks in the third set.
 
After dropping the fourth set, the Demons' aggressive serves began to pay even more dividends in the fifth set. Jade Longlad delivered three aces in the span of five serves giving NSU an 8-4 edge at the turn.
 
The Tigers pulled within two but the team-leading 12^th kill from Elsie Sanchez Oliver sparked the match-winning 4-1 scoring run that gave NSU its first win of the season.
 
McFarland's defense through the final four sets saw her finish with 29 digs, collecting nearly six digs per set in the match.
 
A few hours later against Memphis, the Demons encountered a veteran team that executed on all cylinders from the opening serve.
 
The Tigers from Memphis powered their way to .333 and .259 hitting percentages in the first two sets, while holding the Demons below .100 each time defensively. Amanda Hardt, who had 26 kills earlier in the day in the five-set win against USC Upstate, was cooled off slightly by the Demons defense, but opened the door for seven-plus kills each from three of her teammates.
 
"That team is full of upperclassmen. They have two freshman and everybody else is there is a transfer and upperclassmen and they played like it," Kaszeta said. "We watched number 15 on the outside take advantage of other people early so we did a good job of actually containing her, but for us, it's learning how to contain more than one person and we're just not there yet. 
 
"We will get there. We slowed one kid down today. She was the best player on the court all day today and we slowed her down we just couldn't get the other ones down."
 
The Demons finish their opening weekend in Memphis by taking on USC Upstate on Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m.