The red-hot Northwestern State volleyball team eyes its fifth straight win tonight when they host the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at 6:30 p.m. in Prather Coliseum.
Fans can watch on ESPN+ as Patrick Netherton and Caley Carter will have the play-by-play.
The Demons (5-6) won all four games last week, starting by beating Jackson State 3-1 at home. They swept the Bulldog Bash hosted by Louisiana Tech with wins over Mississippi Valley State (3-0), ULM (3-1) and Grambling (3-1).
NSU enters tonight against Louisiana Tech (6-4) on its longest winning streak since the Demons won four straight matches early in the 2024 season.
The Demons feature the Southland Conference’s leader in assists per set, senior Jade Longlad. The Calgary, Alberta, Canada native is averaging 9.4 assists per set and has 321 total which is second in the league.
Sophomore Emmarie McFarland is the reigning Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week. She leads the league in digs with 192. The Alvin, Texas native has had 10 or more in all 11 matches this year, averaging 4.92 a set.
Sophomore Elsie Sanchez is second in the conference in kills (114) and kills per set (3.35). The Demons’ outside hitter is averaging 13 kills per game in the five wins this season.
“I’m really impressed with this group,” second-year Demon head coach Ben Kaszeta said. “This group is hungry. Even after winning Friday (against ULM) they still were talking about the mistakes they made and what they can do to get better.”
The Bulldogs (6-4) are 3-3 in their last six outings following a loss to McNeese at home Saturday. LTU is led by freshman Taylor Woods with 79 kills in nine matches.
“Louisiana Tech is very good,” said Kaszeta. “They’re kind of like us where they have some freshmen in some big roles. Their coach is a good friend of mine and a good human being (second-year Bulldogs’ head coach Scott Mattera) and has a well-coached team who does things that we haven’t seen yet. They run different play sets and change things up so it will good challenge for us.”
Historically, Louisiana Tech leads the all-time series 26-23 but the Demons have won seven of the last 10 and four of the last five in Prather Coliseum.