Demons drop final game of tournament to Little Rock in straight sets
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Northwestern State volleyball team fell in straight sets to the Little Rock Trojans 25-8, 25-18 and 25-11 Saturday afternoon in the final game of the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational hosted by Missouri State.
The Demons (1-5) ran into a buzzsaw in the first set as the Trojans (4-1) led 24-5 before three straight points by the Demons late in the set made it a little closer. But Little Rock hit a robust .571 for the set to cruise to the 1-0 lead.
However, the second set saw the Demons roar their way into the match, giving Little Rock all they could handle. The match was tied at 13-13 after
Ana Gjorgjievska's fourth kill of the match. But the Trojans scored eight of the next nine points to take a 21-14 lead after back-to-back aces by Victoria Fontenot as the Trojans went on to take a 2-0 lead.
In the third set, NSU fell behind 13-5 as the Trojans continued their offensive onslaught as they pulled away for the straight set win. As the Demons sorely missed
Elsie Sanchez who was out resting her shoulder.
"We played really hard again," said Demon head coach
Ben Kaszeta. "But Little Rock had a great game plan. Focused in on our serve receive. Exposed a couple weaknesses. They gave us a whole lot to look at on film. Without Elsie today we just could not adjust fast enough."
Little Rock finished the match hitting .468 (43 kills, six attack errors, 79 attacks). The Demons finished the match hitting .026 (19 kills, 17 attack errors, 77 attacks).
Gillian Grace Wolf led the Demons with six kills while Camilia Torquati had six assists to lead the way.
Emmarie McFarland had 10 digs to lead the defense which was her seventh straight match with double digit digs.
Freshman
Olivia Nzioki earned All-Tournament honors as she had 21 kills and 9 blocks in three matches as she continues to shine early in the season.
Next up, the Demons will return to Natchitoches to play their first home game of the season Tuesday night when they host the Jackson State Tigers in Prather Coliseum at 6:30 p.m.
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