HOUSTON – The Northwestern State Demons defeated the Houston Christian Huskies Thursday night 3-1 (24-26, 25-22. 25-23 and 25-16) at Sharp Gymnasium in the Southland Conference opener for both teams.
The Demons (9-7, 1-0 SLC) opened the match leading 10-7 following a kill by
Olivia Nzioki. But the Huskies (2-11, 0-1 SLC) went on a 9-0 run before
Jade Longlad ended the run to make it 16-11 HCU. NSU Demons rallied back to tie the match 20-20 and even had set point at 24-23. But the Huskies scored the final three points highlighted by a set-winning kill by Joya Euhus for the 26-24 win.
In the second set, the competitive battle continued as NSU had a 10-8 lead after a kill by Nzioki and a block assist by Longlad and Nzioki. After the Huskies rallied back to take a 13-12 lead, the Demons went on a 6-0 run to take a comfortable lead, 18-13. NSU maintained a 23-20 lead late and would hang on for the set win after
Kenadii Winfrey's kill gave the Demons a 25-22 win.
The highly contested match continued in the third set as NSU led 10-9 following a kill by Nzioki. The match was tied at 17-17 when Sanchez smashed her ninth kill of the match. However, the Demons found themselves in a 22-19 hole late in the set. Nzioki had other ideas as she had two kills and two blocks in the final six points of the set to give NSU a 24-23 lead. The Demons clinched the set, 25-23, as the Huskies committed a set error.
"Olivia is growing up right before us," said Demon head coach
Ben Kaszeta. "She followed the game plan on those points perfectly. She was at the place that we scouted when it counted. I was really proud of her."
In the fourth set, the Demons pushed out to a 17-11 lead and led 23-14 as the Huskies were out of it. NSU clinched the win 25-16 after a service error by HCU.
"This group is tightly knit," said Kaszeta. "They work! We did get a little bothered in set one and resorted back to some bad habits. But I loved that we were able to regroup."
NSU was led by Sanchez with 13 kills. Nzioki finished with 10 kills and nine blocks while
Amber Craig added nine kills. Winfrey chipped in with seven to aid the offensive attack. Longlad had 36 assists while
Emmarie McFarland had her 16
th straight game with 10 or more digs as she had 27.
The win was the first for the Demons on the road against HCU since Oct. 9, 2014. It was also the first conference win for the Demons since Nov. 14, 2024, when they beat New Orleans 3-1 at home. NSU also got its first road conference win since Oct. 28, 2023, when it beat Lamar 3-0. NSU has now 8-1 in their last nine games.
Next up, the Demons make the three-hour trip west to San Antonio to face the UIW Cardinals (3-7, 1-0 SLC) Saturday at 1 p.m. UIW is coming off a 3-1 victory Thursday night at home over East Texas A&M (6-8. 0-1 SLC) in the conference opener.
