GRAMBLING, La. – The Northwestern State Demons' volleyball team won its fourth straight match as it defeated the Grambling State Tigers 3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 26-24 and 29-27) Saturday afternoon during the final day of the Louisiana Tech Bulldog Bash played at the Frederick C. Hobdy Assembly Center on the campus of GSU.
The Demons (5-6) fell behind 23-18 in the first set before GSU (2-6) picked up the win. NSU hit a solid .273 (16 kills, 4 errors, 44 attacks) in the first set. But the Demons had five service errors which proved to be the difference in the set.
NSU rallied back in the second set. They opened with a modest lead of 10-7 following a kill by
Olivia Nzioki. The Demons pulled out to a more comfortable lead of 15-8 at the media timeout after a kill by
Elsie Sanchez. NSU continued to dominate the second set as they led 20-11 following
Kenadii Winfrey's kill. GSU closed the gap to 24-20 before the Demons secured the set on a bad set by GSU.
The Tigers came out with an early advantage in the third set leading 11-7 highlighted by three kills by Lainy Evans. GSU had a 15-10 lead when NSU went on a 7-1 run to regain the lead thanks to three kills from Nzioki during the run making it 17-16. GSU had set point at 24-23, but, yet again, the Demons clutched up as Nzioki's kill tied the match at 24-24. After an attack error by GSU, Nzioki clinched the third set for NSU with her 15
th kill of the match.
The fourth set saw NSU facing another hole at the media timeout, 15-12. But, as was the theme all weekend, that was irrelevant. The Demons calmly battled their way back into the match to cut it to 18-17. However, GSU pushed out to a 24-21 lead as the Demons were on the brink of a fifth set.
NSU had other ideas. Nzioki had two kills and Wolf had one along with an attack error by GSU t give the Demons a 25-24 lead. NSU faced another set point trailing 27-26. But Nzioki tied the match with her 22
nd and final kill, GSU had an attack error then Sanchez's kill sealed the win for NSU.
Second-year Demon head coach
Ben Kaszeta praised his team's intangibles from players like
Emmarie McFarland. The sophomore finished with 18 digs for 11
th straight double-digit dig performance. But he was more impressed with her leadership. And his lone senior,
Jade Longlad, is showing him, she can run his offense.
"Emmarie's poise and passion led us well today," said Kaszeta. "We played very hard and it paid off. I'm proud of this group. We're learning about ourselves every second. Jade is running a pretty darn good offense. We are doing everything we can to stay present. One point at a time. We have played lopsided games the past two weeks in practice. Starting 18-22. Today was the reason why. They even brought it up in a timeout. They knew they were capable of it from practice. Today proved we are capable against a really good team."
The Demons finished .277 hit percentage (59 kills, 18 errors, 148 attacks). Sanchez finished with 15 kills to complement Nzioki. Nzioki's 22 kills was a season high for the Demons.
Longlad had 41 assists and 12 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Wolf added 15 digs and had nine kills just missing her first career double-double.
The one thing the Demons had to overcome was a season-high 15 service errors which nearly cost them the third and fourth sets.
"Most of the time it's jitters," said Kaszeta. 'We are trying to do too much and be perfect and get an ace. It is a hard line to tote. The balance between ace and error. There are days like today when we lost that battle. It will definitely be a point of emphasis this week."
NSU is now 33-4 all-time against GSU and 2-0 this year after beating the Tigers 3-1 back on Aug. 29 at the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational in Springfield, Missouri.
Next up, the Demons return home to face the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (6-3) Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. in Prather Coliseum. The Bulldogs won the last matchup between the two 3-1 back in 2024 but NSU has won seven of the last 10.
