Sept. 16, 2005
Box Score
NATCHITOCHES, La. - The Lamar Lady Cardinals were handed their first loss of the Southland Conference schedule Friday night, falling to Northwestern State 3-1.
In game four, trailing two games to one, Lamar pulled out to a four-point lead early and stretched their lead to 18-11 at one point. Northwestern however rallied back to tie the game at 28 and forcing match point at 29-28. The Lady Demons could not close out the game on their first attempt, but pulled out the win 32-30, completing the comeback.
Service errors proved to be a major problem for the Lady Cardinals in game four. As with game one, the timing of the errors proved costly, allowing Northwestern to rally. In all, Lamar committed 18 service errors in the match, to NSU's six.
Game one was a back and forth battle, but the Lady Demons grabbed a two point lead late, and held on for a 30-27 win. The Lady Cardinals had their opportunities in game one, but several untimely service errors stopped Lamar rallies before they could take control.
The Lady Demons went on a five point run early in game two to take a 13-10 lead, but the Lady Cardinals battled back behind the strong serving of Ashley Todd who served five straight points to get Lamar back into the game.
The game remained close throughout, but Lamar was able to pull out the game 30-28. Whereas a couple of serving errors hurt the Lady Cardinals in game one, they were able to keep Northwestern off balance with tough serves in game two.
Meagan Adams gave LU a huge spark in game two, coming off the bench and knocking down seven kills with a .545 hitting percentage and collecting six digs.
Game three saw Northwestern jump out to an early 12-3 lead, and LU was never able to climb any closer than seven points of the Lady Demons. NSU took game three 30-21, taking a two games to one advantage.
The Lady Cardinals were led by Molli Abel, who pounded out 18 kills with a .516 hitting percentage, while Buchi Okoh and Lauren Rush added 12 kills each. Ashley Todd passed out a match high 62 assists for Lamar.
The Lady Cardinals will be in action again Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. when they take on the Lady Indians of Louisiana-Monroe in Monroe, La.
