BEAUMONT, Texas - Returning to a venue where the Cardinals have been nigh unstoppable, Lamar University's women's volleyball team will host Central Arkansas and Stephen F. Austin this weekend. Big Red is 6-2 at the McDonald Gymnasium this season, their best record at home since 2015.

Lamar is currently 10th in the Southland Conference standings - 3-7 in the SLC - with six games remaining on the schedule, four at home split by two on the road. UCA is currently fourth in the SLC at 8-2 in the league, and SFA is at the top with a 10-0 conference record.

THE LAST TIME OUT - A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI AND HOUSTON BAPTIST

A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI
Down by two sets and against the ropes at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, the volleyball team of Lamar University once again demonstrated grit and determination Thursday in a herculean comeback effort. The Cards demolished the Islanders in the third set and captured the fourth set to force extras before ultimately falling in the fifth.
 
Tomar Thomas had 13 kills, nine digs, and an ace, pacing Lamar's offensive effort, and Ivette Dim also recorded 11 kills and two blocks. Kyla Rogers collected 31 assists, a new career best, and Abigale Nash (13 digs) and Kinsy Haschke(10 digs) each had double-digit digs.

HOUSTON BAPTIST
Again fighting back from the brink to even the match at two sets apiece, Lamar University's volleyball team was just a few points shy of victory Saturday in the final of its four-game Southland Conference road trip. The Cards fell at Houston Baptist in five sets.

Tomar Thomas had 13 kills and nine digs, coming within one dig of her third double-double of the year, and Abigale Nashpoured in another nine kills and 13 digs. Kyla Rogers reset her career best with 38 assists, and Erin Pequeno had 13 digs.

THIS WEEK - CENTRAL ARKANSAS AND STEPHEN F. AUSTIN

Lamar vs. Central Arkansas - Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.
The Cards are 5-13 against Central Arkansas, including 4-6 at home. The last three meetings between the Sugar Bears and Cards have all taken place at McDonald Gym, with UCA holding a 2-1 mark.

Jeni Jones Chatman is 77-37 overall in four seasons with UCA, including a 42-16 record in SLC play. The Sugar Bears have been especially impressive these past two years with a 45-10 overall record and a 21-5 league record. UCA won the 2017 SLC tournament and has qualified for the tourney the past eight seasons. Barring an almost unfathomable collapse Central Arkansas will return to the playoffs this season as well.

UCA has one of the best offenses in the country- the Sugar Bears rank in the Top 60 nationally in kills per set (13.62 - 1st SLC, 52nd NCAA), hitting percentage (25.1% - 1st SLC, 37th NCAA), and assists per set (12.69 - 1st SLC, 59th NCAA). Central Arkansas's defense isn't quite as strong, but still in the upper half of the SLC. The Sugar Bears have dug 1,265 balls this year - sixth in the SLC - and have 156.0 total blocks - eighth in the league.

Samantha Anderson is averaging an impeccable 3.56 kills a set, the second-best in the league, and hitting at a .332 clip - trailing only New Orleans' Kaitlyn Grice in accuracy. Haley Tippett has the fourth-most total attacks (770) league-wide and the third-most kills (275), and Emily Doss has 373 digs this season, just eight less than Channing Burleson's league-leading 381 digs this year.

Lamar vs. Stephen F. Austin - Oct. 27 at 1 p.m.
Lamar and Stephen F. Austin have a rather storied rivalry that goes back 35 years - the first match between the Cards and Ladyjacks took place in 1983 in McDonald Gym. Big Red won that match and the next 10 matches after that, but SFA holds a 31-11 advantage against Lamar since then. This season Stephen F. Austin is 23-2 overall and 10-0 in conference play, having lost just four sets to SLC opponents. The Jacks have won 20 consecutive matches.

Debbie Humphreys has been in Nacogdoches for 30 years, and has an incredible 685-338 record in that time. She's one of just 15 active NCAA Division I coaches with 650 or more wins.

SFA ranks in the top 4 of the Southland in almost every category - including blocks per set (2.47, 1st), assists per set (12.31, 2nd), aces per set (1.47, 2nd), kills per set (13.28, 2nd), hitting percentage (0.243, 2nd), and digs per set (16.29, 2nd).

Haley Coleman leads the Ladyjacks in kills with 244 in 2018, but five other SFA student-athletes have at least 100 kills this season including Danae Daron (188 kills), Peyton Redmond (173 kills), and Makenzee Hanna (173 kills). Ann Hollas has 548 total assists this year and three Ladyjacks (Sabrina Monaco, Coleman, and Hollas) have over 200 digs. Daron and Anyia Williams have been a force inside with both averaging over a block a set.

UP NEXT
Just four games will remain for the Cards after this weekend. Big Red will travel to McNeese (Oct. 30, 6:30 p.m.) and Incarnate Word (Nov. 1, 7 p.m.) before returning home for Senior Day against Northwestern State (Nov. 8, 7 p.m.) and the regular season finale against Southeastern Louisiana (Nov. 10, 10 a.m.)