NATCHITOCHES – With just four regular season matches remaining, the Northwestern State Demons' volleyball team hits the road Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. to face the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders at the Dugan Wellness Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.

The Demons (13-14, 5-7 SLC) are looking to bounce back from a 3-0 loss at home to the UIW Cardinals (12-9, 10-2 SLC) this past Saturday. NSU enters the week tied for seventh place in the conference standings with Lamar (8-17, 5-7 SLC) who owns the tiebreaker over the Demons. The Islanders (8-15, 6-6 SLC) are tied for fifth place with McNeese (10-13, 6-6 SLC). The top eight teams qualify for the conference tournament, which is Friday, Nov. 20-Sunday, Nov. 22 in Corpus Christi.

"We're in a pretty good place," said Demon head coach Ben Kaszeta. "We're working towards some good goals. But we're still trying to maintain against some of the better teams in the league in each match. But I like the attitude and energy we have. Monday's practice was awesome and we're attacking things with good energy and a good mindset."

NSU's Elsie Sanchez continues to lead the Demons' offense with 3.48 kills per set. The sophomore had a career and Southland Conference season high of 28 kills in the Demons win over HCU last week.

The Demons also have gotten good work from senior setter Jade Longlad. The Calgary, Alberta, Canada natie is averaging 9.42 assists per set which is third in the league.
The Islanders are led by Kenna Buchanon offensively averaging 2.90 kills per set. The senior has recorded 12 or more kills in six of the last eight matches.

A&M-Corpus Christi is coming off two straight games against UT-Rio Grande Valley (14-9, 10-2 SLC). The Islanders won the first match at home 3-0 before UTRGV returned the favor Saturday in Edinburg, Texas with a 3-1 win.

"They (Islanders) play so much faster than everyone else," said Kaszeta. "The challenges they present are different if we can stand up to those and go through them it will be a good result."

Thursday is the second matchup between the Demons and Islanders with the Demons winning back on Oct. 10, 3-1, in Natchitoches. Sanchez led the Demons with 14 kills while Buchanon paced the Islanders with a game high 15 kills. Longlad had 41 assists as the Demons rallied after dropping the first set.

Historically, the Islanders have had the upper hand against NSU, winning eight of the last 10. NSU's win in Corpus Christi was Nov. 14, 2019, when the Demons defeated the Islanders 3-1.

Fans can watch Thursday's match on ESPN+. Live stats will be available at NSUDemons.com while live updates can be found on twitter/X on the NSU volleyball page @NSUDemonsVB.