Oct. 24, 2013

Box Score

NATCHITOCHES, La. - Cortney Moore and Sierra Whittaker each had standout evenings on Thursday, but ultimately it didn't prove enough for the Lamar volleyball team as the Lady Cardinals' upset bid came up short in a 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 20-25, 21-25) loss to Northwestern State at Prather Coliseum.

Whittaker hit a blistering .405 with a match-best 18 kills, and Moore recorded 14 at a .333 rate to go along with six blocks, including three of the solo variety. However, unfortunately for the Red and White, the Lady Cards were out-hit .278 to .232 on the night.

With the loss, LU saw its four-match winning streak snapped and dropped to 8-15 on the year and 6-5 in Southland Conference play. NSU improved to 13-9 and 9-1, respectively.

Alexa Johnson also had a strong night for LU, posting 47 assists, and Megan Schwartz was the defensive standout, racking up 17 digs. Erika Rojas was just as good, picking up 16, and Molly Duge added 12.

After dropping the opening set in 25-22 fashion, the Lady Cards flipped the score to even the match up at 1-1. Whittaker and Madi Martin combined for nine kills without recording an error in the frame. 

NSU ran out to an immediate 5-0 lead, but LU answered quickly, eventually gaining their first lead of the match at 8-7 on a Rojas service ace. The Lady Cards would slowly extend the lead out to four at 19-15, but the Demons fought back, cutting the deficit to one at 21-20. Kills by Whittaker and Schwartz as well as a solo block by Moore set up the set point, and Schwartz sent the match into the break with a kill.

The Demons picked up a wire-to-wire victory in the third, but it wouldn't be as easy in the fourth. LU hit .333 in the final frame, but NSU was even better, posting a .361 attack percentage. There were six ties in the fourth, the last at 20-20 on another Rojas ace. However, a pair of kills from Stacey DiFrancesco and Glynna Johnson as well as a Sara Landis error put the hosts in control and the Lady Cards wouldn't recover.

Lamar will return to action on Saturday at Stephen F. Austin. First serve is set for 1 p.m.

#PeckEm