BEAUMONT, Texas –A spirited third-set rally wasn't enough for the Lamar University Cardinals as they fell in straight sets to the visiting Northwestern State Lady Demons in the Southland Conference volleyball opener for both teams on Thursday night.
 
The Cardinals (2-9 overall, 0-1 Southland) dropped the first two sets by scores of 25-18 and 25-17 before coming out of the locker room with a renewed purpose. LU had leads of 14-10 and 19-17 in the third set, which invigorated the crowd of 301 at McDonald Gym, but the Lady Demons (5-10, 1-0) fought back for the win.
 
"If we play like we did in the third set, we'll be OK," LU coach Alan Edwards said. "We came out sluggish and that carried over into the second set. That's tough to overcome."
 
Tomar Thomas and Ivette Dim had nine kills apiece for LU, while Amy Hollowell had seven kills and 14 digs.
 
"I thought Tomar played well for us," Edwards said. "Zahria Scott came in and had eight digs, she was fantastic. Hailey Morton had 29 assists and was setting the ball well all night. We just put too many balls into the net."
 
The Cardinals had 33 kills on the night, but made 24 errors on 116 attack attempts. Northwestern State had 40 kills and 13 errors in 104 attempts.
 
"We're too high when it comes to errors," Edwards said. "That is something we definitely need to clean up."
 
Reagan Rogers led Northwestern State with 12 kills, while Hannah Brister had 11 kills. Channing Burleson had 14 digs for the Lady Demons.
 
The Cardinals will go to work Friday to prepare for Central Arkansas, which comes to McDonald Gym at 1 p.m. Saturday. Central Arkansas (11-2, 0-1) dropped a 3-0 decision at Stephen F. Austin in its Southland Conference opener on Thursday.
 
"Central Arkansas is a good team," Edwards said. "We have to be ready from the beginning."
 
Saturday is Scout Day, with all Girls Scouts receiving free admission if they wear their scout uniform to the match. Scout leaders can purchase discounted tickets for just $3. Coach Edwards will conduct a chalk-talk session for all fans at noon.
 
For tickets, call 409-880-1715, or CLICK HERE. Tickets are available at the Montagne Center ticket office from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. weekdays. Tickets will be available at McDonald Gym one hour prior to first serve. LU students receive free admission when they present their Cardinal One card at the entrance. Junior Cardinal Club members are admitted for free when they show their membership badge at McDonald Gym.