NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State Demons' volleyball team hits the road this week starting Thursday when it takes on the Nicholls Colonels at 6:30 p.m. in Stopher Gymnasium in Thibodaux.

The Demons (11-10, 3-3 SLC) are coming off a nice win Saturday afternoon at home over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (6-11, 4-2 SLC). NSU was able to snap a 15-set and five-game losing streak against the Islanders with the win led by Elsie Sanchez with 14 kills and Jade Longlad's 41 assists. The win allowed the Demons to finish the four-game homestand 2-2.

"We were pretty gritty in that match," said Demon head coach Ben Kaszeta. "And the way we were able to find a way to adjust into something different, that's hard. Corpus Christi was fast and once we learned to adjust to that speed we took off from there. And then set four, we didn't let up which is something we have been working on later in matches to play with the right intensity."

The Demons are led by Sanchez with 3.37 kills per set. Out of Tarragona, Spain, Sanchez is second in the Southland in total kills at 236.
NSU's Jade Longlad, a senior setter, continues to lead the conference in total assists (676) and is second in assists per set (9.52) behind UT-Rio Grande Valley's Lana Rnjak (9.55 aps).

Sophomore Emmarie McFarland leads the league in total digs (353) and is fourth in digs per set (4.64). McFarland has 10 or more digs in 20 of 21 matches this season for the Demons.

Kera Arrington helps set the tone for the Colonels (9-10, 2-4 SLC). The junior leads the team in kills per set with 2.61 and total kills and 185. Defensively, the Colonels' libero Natalia Navarro average 4.12 digs per set and had 301 for year.

The Colonels are 2-2 in their last four matches following Saturday's 3-0 loss on the road to Southeastern (8-11, 5-1 SLC).

"We have to make sure we keep doing the little things this weekend," said Kaszeta. "And we went over a lot of those little things in practice this week. Nicholls runs their pin hitter relentlessly. Our middles are going to have to work hard to close out on blocks against them. So, it's going to be a really tough challenge Thursday night."

NSU enters Thursday's matchup looking to win back-to-back conference games for the first time since Oct. 24 and Oct 26, 2023, when the Demons defeated A&M-Corpus Christi and Lamar.

The Demons lead the all-time matchup over the Colonels 37-35 and have won seven of the last 10. However, the Colonels swept the Demons last year in Thibodaux (25-21, 25-17 and 25-23).

Live stats will be available at NSUDemons.com while live updates can be found on twitter/X on the NSU volleyball page @NSUDemonsVB.

Following Thursday's match, the Demons will travel to Lake Charles, Louisiana to face the McNeese Cowgirls (6-11, 2-4 SLC) Saturday at 1 p.m.