NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State Demons look to bounce back from Thursday's five-set loss to the Southeastern Lions at home when they host the LSU New Orleans Privateers Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. in Prather Coliseum.  

The Demons (9-9, 1-2 SLC) had the lead going into the fourth set Thursday against the Lions before SLU rallied back to steal the match from the Demons, 15-8 in the fifth set. Elsie Sanchez had 18 kills while Amber Craig had 15, both tying their career highs.

Jade Longlad had 47 assists which tied her career high as well and has her on the doorstep of 1,000 career assists entering Saturday's match with 997. The senior setter continues to lead the Southland in assists (572) and assists per set (9.38) this season.

Sophomore Emmarie McFarland's 323 digs also lead the league. The Alvin, Texas native has had 10 or more digs in all 18 matches this season.

NSU Amber Craig is quietly adding another dimension to the Demons' offensive attack. The freshman has 20 aces thus far which is fourth in the league. The Demons have four of the top 10 in the league in aces including sophomore Kenadii Winfey (16), Sanchez (16) and Longlad (14).

LSU-New Orleans (2-14, 0-3 SLC) enters Saturday's match with a five-game losing streak. But Demon head coach Ben Kaszeta isn't looking at it.

"Their record means nothing," said Kaszeta. "They beat us bad last year at their place and they have been competitive in plenty of matches. We have found out you have to be ready to play in this league every night."

Historically, the Demons have had the upper hand winning eight of the last 10 matches against the Privateers and are 7-1 all-time in Prather Coliseum against them.
The Privateers are led by freshman Armie Hall offensively with 185 kills (3.25 k.p.s). Mia Lopez leads the defense with 249 digs (4.37 d.p.s).

Fans can watch Saturday's match on ESPN+ as Patrick Netherton and Caley Carter will have the call. Live stats will be available at NSUDemons.com while live updates can be found on twitter/X on the NSU volleyball page @NSUDemonsVB.