LAKE CHARLES – The McNeese volleyball team did not get the result it wanted in its return to Memorial Gym as the Cowgirls dropped their Southland Conference opener Northwestern State, 3-0, Thursday evening at Memorial Gym.
 
The loss dropped McNeese to 4-12 on the season and 0-1 in league action while Northwestern State improved its overall mark to 6-10 and 1-0 in SLC play.
 
The first set was a close battle but it was the Lady Demons who were able to take advantage of McNeese errors and stay solid on defense to take a 25-18 victory. Keegan Nelms led the squad with four kills and 13 assists during the set but it was Northwestern State's four blocks that set the tone for the rest of the match.
 
McNeese was more sound in the second set with three different players recording at least two kills led by Katelyn Elliot but it was the Lady Demons who were able to pull away from the Cowgirls to take a 25-18 set win and go up 2-0.
 
Northwestern State dominated the evening's third set with 16 kills despite both squad's committing six errors apiece. Rae Myers came up big in the set with four kills, mostly from her serves. However, the Cowgirls could not provide an answer for the strong defensive play from Northwestern State and were edged in the third set, 25-21, for the match win.
 
With her team-high 10 kills on the evening, Katelyn Elliott extended her streak of 10 or more kills in a match to five matches while Alexandra Aguilera provided 29 assists for McNeese. The Cowgirls were charged with 18 errors on the evening while Northwestern State committed only eight.
 
McNeese will return to Memorial Gym for another Southland Conference match against Central Arkansas on Saturday beginning at 12:30 p.m. The match will be available to watch via Live Stream and Live Stats on McNeeseSports.com.