BEAUMONT – Fresh off of a busy three-match week, the Lamar University volleyball team will return home to do something it hasn't done a vast majority of the 2016 campaign. Play host.
The Cardinals open start down the home stretch of the Southland Conference schedule with six more matches left in the year, five at home, starting with Stephen F. Austin at 7 p.m. in McDonald Gym Thursday night. The match against SFA opens a three-match home stand, which features Sam Houston State Saturday and Houston Baptist on Tuesday.
To start the week, Lamar (5-17, 5-5 Southland) sits in position for the sixth spot in the Southland Conference Tournament, but needs a strong finish to the year to qualify and gain a good seed. The final six matches features teams that sit in a tie with LU or ranked higher in the league standings.
Stephen F. Austin (17-8, 7-2) is in second place of the standings and enters on a two-match win streak, over Northwestern State and Central Arkansas.
That contest sets up in interesting battle in McDonald Gym, a matchup of the reigning Southland Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week.
Chelsea Grant, who leads the conference in kills per set, took offensive honors after a dominating week that had her with 5.64 kills a set and a .331 attack mark. Justice Walker, who leads the league in blocks per set, was the defensive award winner after she averaged 2.17 blocks a set.
The two squads have matched up 51 times before and the Ladyjacks hold a 29-22 advantage, but LU holds a slim 13-12 lead when the match is played in McDonald Gym. SFA enters on a seven-match win streak of Big Red, one short of tying its longest win streak against them.
Walker tops the team with a .311 attack mark, which is third in the league. She is third on the team with 2.08 kills a set, only behind Abby McIntyre (2.51) and KK Payne (2.10). The 'Jacks run a 6-2 system that rotates setters Ann Hollas and Shannon Connell. Hollas tops the team with 7.88 assists a set and Connell has 5.00.
Defensively, Lexus Cain tops the team with 5.39 digs a set, followed by four other Ladyjack with two or more. Both Walker (1.28) and Danae Daron (1.05) average more than a block a set.
Statistically Stephen F. Austin is the best defensive team in the league. It ranks first in both blocks and digs, but it matches up against a hot offensive team in Lamar. In the last three matches, the Cardinals averaged 15.09 kills a set and hit for a .298 team attack average. Just in kills and service aces, it averaged 16.91 points earned.
Saturday's match features LU and Sam Houston State (11-11, 5-4), which sits sixth in the league standings at the start of the week, at 1 p.m. That match is the first of a volleyball-football twinbill for Homecoming. Parking at McDonald Gym for the match will be interrupted due to the parade.
Jimmy Simmons Blvd. will close at 11 a.m. Saturday and the parking lot in front of McDonald Gym will be closed to the public. Fans are asked to park in lots J4, J5 and T3, which are directly across Simmons Blvd. from McDonald. Signage will be available.
Sam Houston holds a big 46-35 all-time advantage against the Cardinals, but the last four battles have gone the way of the home team. LU took the last contest in five sets in Beaumont and the Bearkats took two before that.
Sam Houston suffered back-to-back loss to leader Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Abilene Christian, but has since won two-straight over Nicholls and McNeese.
Jordan Vaughn, who is fourth in the league, tops the team with 3.28 kills per set, followed by Brooke White at 3.16. White is sixth in the league. Amanda Gooch has a team-best .318 hitting percentage, second in the Southland Conference. Michelle Griffith leads the Kats on a 9.43 assists per set mark.
Defensively, six Bearkats have two or more digs a set, led by Breanna Homer with 2.86. Taylor Cunningham has the team's best blocks mark, 0.79 per set.
The Cardinals will play their second Tuesday match of the season on Nov. 1 against Houston Baptist at 7 p.m., also in McDonald Gym. That match ends Big Red's three-match home stand.
