Northwestern State University of Louisiana’s volleyball team will compete in the third annual 2024 Battle for the Boot tournament this weekend in Ruston.
Since it was first hosted in Hammond in 2022, the tournament is a weekend long competition among institutions across the state of Louisiana. This year the series of matches hosted at the Thomas Assembly Center will feature NSU, Southern University and A&M College, Southeastern Louisiana University, Louisiana Tech University and until this year University of Louisiana at Monroe.
The Lady Demons will play for their third weekend against the Southern University Jaguars on Friday at 3 p.m. and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on Saturday at 11 a.m at the Thomas Assembly Center.
Brad Welborn, assistant sports information director for volleyball and softball, explained how the tournament is a great way to showcase volleyball in the state.
“The sport is growing year over year across the state and this weekend allows those young volleyball players and new fans to see the sport played at a high level,” Welborn said.
The tournament’s location changes every year depending on what works best for each school that season and an agreement among the coaching staff. If the ULM Warhawk’s decide to return as a participant next year, they or Southern will host next year. There is no fundraising involved with the event being that most schools in Louisiana, including NSU, don’t charge for admission for volleyball matches, Wellborn explained.
Although the Demons and Lions are both in the Southland Conference, it isn’t considered a conference match since they will not go head to head at the battle, Welborn said. None of the other matches that will be played this weekend count as conference games due to the remaining teams being in separate conferences.
“It’s also great for the teams themselves to maintain and grow those local rivalries while offering a closer-to-home tournament weekend instead of having to travel farther off to play,” Welborn said.
Reaghan Thompson, junior nursing major and outside hitter, described the team’s mindset going into the tournament after the recent 0-3 loss at Grambling State University on Tuesday, Sept. 10.
“We just had a tough loss on Tuesday and it was kind of like a wake up call for us,” Thompson said. “This weekend is a way to redeem ourselves. I think we’re doing pretty well with intense practices, having a positive mindset and confidence again to win.”
Thompson, who was recently named Southland Conference Player of the Week, explained how she individually prepared for the competition.
“Just taking the mistakes from the last game and figuring out how to not make them again, whether that’s doing extra reps or working on something different,” Thompson said. “I learned how to play in new positions so everyday is a chance for me to improve.”
Ashlyn Svoboda, senior general studies major and libero, addressed the upcoming competition against the Jaguars and Bulldogs.
“We’re playing Tech again, we played them a couple of weeks ago and lost, we’re a different team now so I think that’s going to be a good matchup for us,” Svoboda said. “After the tough week, we aren’t going to take anything lightly.”
Aside from the tournament, she shared her mindset going into her final year playing volleyball.
“Sometimes you just have to move on and forget all about it, then just play the best you can,” Svoboda said. “I just want to leave it all out on the court because this is my last year playing volleyball.”
Samaya Wesson, sophomore business and marketing major and middle blocker, shared how the team can come out of this weekend victorious.
“We have to look at the bigger picture and move on and keep it going,” Wesson said. “We need to have good energy as a team and leave it all out on the court.”
Wesson discussed that both teams are just as prepared as the Lady Demons are.
“We’ve played some matchups that we’ve already played so they’ve had time to remember what we did and we did the same,” Wesson said. “It’s going to be a ‘who did it better’ situation this weekend.”
The Lady Demons hope to produce a win as they face off in the Battle for the Boot this weekend in Ruston. Following the tournament, the team will return home to play Texas A&M Commerce on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at Prather Coliseum.
