BEAUMONT, Texas – A lot is riding on what is going to be a very busy weekend Lamar University volleyball, which opens the week in McDonald Gym against Southland Conference leader Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Thursday at 7 p.m. in Southland Conference action.
After that match, the Cardinals (6-20, 6-8 Southland) will host Incarnate Word (11-16, 7-7) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the early part of a volleyball-football twin bill. That Cardinal Showdown will be the final match of the regular season, so Lamar set aside time in pregame to celebrate the careers of four seniors playing their final match in McDonald Gym.
The Thursday contest against Corpus Christ (19-7, 14-0) is Student Appreciation Night and free coolers will be given to students wearing red, and there will also be a postgame autograph session. Along with being Senior Day Saturday, LU will be hosting a Canned Food Drive and all who show their ticket to the football game will get in free of charge.
Lamar, which holds the seventh seed heading into the week, needs just one win to lock a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament for the first time since 2011. With three teams battling for the final two spots, LU could get in with a little help too. If either McNeese or Southeastern Louisiana falls in all of their final matches, then the Cardinals would also get through. SLU faces New Orleans Saturday and McNeese heads to Nicholls Tuesday and Abilene Christian Saturday.
With one win, Lamar would notch its most conference wins since 2013 and with two it would grab the most wins since 2011.
Big Red has already faced both teams this season, and fell to both. It dropped a 3-2 nail biter to UIW on Oct. 13 and lost to the Islanders two days later in straight-sets.
Lamar battled tough with the reigning Southland Conference champions in their gym, but the Islanders eventually took the match 25-22, 26-24, 25-20. Senior
Chelsea Grant led the team with 13 kills and had a .250 attack percentage.
Ivette Dim, who led LU with a .435 attack mark, followed Grant with 11 kills. As a team, Lamar hit for a .191 attack percentage and 39 total kills, but Corpus put up a .270 mark – led by .624 from Morgan Williams.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi has been the class of the Southland Conference the last two seasons, winning 32-straight league matches dating back to 2014. Brittany Gilpin, who ranks fourth in the Southland Conference in kill a set, leads AMCC with a 3.36 mark. Kristyn Nicholson leads Corpus with 9.27 assists a set and 46 total aces. Defensively, Kate Kleptka is second in the conference with 5.03 digs a set, followed on the Islanders by Gilpin's 2.63 mark. Madison Fitzsimmons, who leads the team with a .309 attack percentage, tops the team with 1.10 blocks a set.
The Cardinals hold a 13-11 all-time advantage, but as of late Corpus Christi has dominated the Cardinals to the tune of nine-straight wins.
The first match against UIW was one of Lamar's seven five-set matches since league play opened, and was the final of four straight. Lamar tallied its then-highest point total of the season, 84, and kills, 65. Both now rank third on the season. As a team, LU hit for a .195 attack average, lower than UIW's .230. LU delivered six service aces, but recorded 10 service errors.
Four Cardinals registered 10 or more kills, led by Grant's 19.
Tomar Thomas backed her up with 15, followed by 14 from
Murielle Hlavac and 12 from Dim. Both Thomas' and Dim's marks were career bests.
Haley Morton picked up two career-highs on her way to a double-double, 57 assists – which she has tied – and 20 digs.
Carlyn Stella finished with 18 digs followed by Monica Stroschein's 11. Freshman
Dannisha House was a part of seven blocks in the match, leading a Lamar squad that had 13 total.
UIW comes in on a two-match win streak with wins over Nicholls and McNeese. Autumn Lockley is the top hitter for the Cardinals with a 3.47 kills per set mark and a .228 attack percentage, which is third on the team. Her kills mark is third in the league. Bryaunea Hall is the only other Cardinal with two or more kills a set, 2.32.
Setter Madison Williams tops the team with 5.94 assists a set, followed by Sierra Moses at 4.73. Williams also leads the team with 33 service aces. Defensively, Shaina Garza leads the team with 2.73 digs a set, followed by Lockley at 2.65 and Brittany Mueller at 2.26. Sarea Alexander leads the way with 1.06 blocks a set.
Central Arkansas will host the Southland Conference Tournament in Conway, coincidentally the place it was hosted the last time Lamar entered the event. It will begin Nov. 18 and on Nov. 20.
