BEAUMONT, Texas - Fresh off the heels of an impressive five-set rally on Thursday, Lamar University's volleyball team returns to McDonald Gymnasium this Saturday with a dual purpose. The Cards will host the University of New Orleans and look to move up the Southland Conference leader board, and Big Red will honor the accomplishments of several legendary Cardinals, including the jersey retirement of Natalie Smith (née Sarver).

THE LAST TIME OUT - NICHOLLS
Facing match point six times in the fifth set alone, Lamar University's volleyball team refused to give up Thursday in a five-set match at home against Nicholls State University. The Cards rallied back from a 14-9 deficit in the fifth to win the set 17-15 and the match 3-2.

"I'm really proud of our kids for the way they fought," said head coach Michelle Kuester, who beat the 2017 win total with tonight's victory. "I don't think I have ever witnessed them fight that way ever in my three years here. To see them keep working and being patient to find their shot and not panicking is a great feeling as a coach."

Nina Pevic was one of four Cards with double-digit kills on the evening, setting a new career best with 17. Ivette Dim was just two kills behind with 15, and Tomar Thomas and Dannisha House poured in another 14 and 11 kills, respectively. Alyssa Legette dealt out an impressive 35 assists on the evening while splitting time with Kyla Rogers and Monica Strohschein, and secured her third double-double of her freshman campaign with 11 digs. Erin Pequeno had 21 digs, and Abigale Nash had eight kills and 15 digs. The Cards also had nine service aces on the evening, including three from Zahria Scott.

Lamar vs. New Orleans - Oct. 6 at 1 p.m.
Lamar holds a 22-15 record over New Orleans since the two programs first met in 1983, and that includes conference matches between the Cards and Privateers both in the Southland and in the Sun Belt Conference, which both programs belonged to at various points in their respective histories. Last season's series went UNO's way with a five-set win at Lamar on Oct. 17 and a four set win over the Cards in New Orleans, La., on Oct. 28. Big Red holds an 8-4 record at home against the Privateers.

Millicent Van Norden is in her fifth season as the head coach of the Privateers and in that time has accrued a 52-91 overall and an 18-52 mark in SLC play. She has 17 years of experience as a volleyball head coach and has 231 wins and 318 losses in her career. In addition, she also served as the head softball coach for the Alcorn State program from 2002 to 2004, and went 21-76 in that time.

New Orleans is 10-10 overall this year and 4-2 in SLC play with league wins at Houston Baptist, against Nicholls, against Northwestern State, and against Southeastern Louisiana. The Privateers lost at A&M-Corpus Christi in straight sets and at McNeese in five. UNO leads the SLC in total assists with 873 on the year, the 19th most in the country, and their 1,108 total digs are also tops in the league. Total attacks (2,576) and total team blocks (173.5) also pace the Southland, and their 917 total kills is third-most in the conference.

Brianna Vega is a true sniper at the serve - she's fourth in the SLC in aces per set with an average of 0.34. She has 24 aces on the year, which is tied with teammate Blessing Dunn for the most in the SLC. Kaitlyn Grice is a force in the middle with an average of 1.22 blocks a set (2nd in the SLC) and a .335 hitting percentage (1st in the SLC), and Sarah Thomas's 568 total assists trails only two Southland setters. The digging duo of Dunn (245 digs) and Andrea Nava (238 digs) make UNO a defensive force to be reckoned with as well.

Jersey Retirement and Alumni Recognition
Natalie Smith (née Sarver) played for Lamar from 1999-2002, and was named to the All-Southland Conference team each of her four seasons as a Cardinal. She was named the 2002 Southland Player of the Year and took home the 2002 Babe Zaharias Award. Her contributions in the postseason were also notable, earning her All-Tournament honors in 2000 and 2002.
 
Smith ranks among the best to ever wear an LU uniform in several statistical categories, including second and 10th, respectively, in single-season kills, first and fifth, respectively, in single-season attacks, and third and 10th, respectively, in single-season digs. She holds the Big Red record for career kills with 1,906 and career attacks with 5,053, and she also holds the career record for digs with 1,613. Sarver also holds the Cardinal record for kills in a game with 34, a number she achieved twice.
 
Due to her many accomplishments both on and off the court, Lamar Athletics is proud to make Natalie Smith's jersey the first volleyball number to be retired in program history.

Joining Smith will be over two dozen other Cardinal volleyball alumni, reaching back all the way to the 1971 season. Smith's jersey retirement will take place in a pre-game ceremony at approximately 12:45 p.m., and the alumni recognition is scheduled between Sets 2 and 3 of Saturday's match. All times are subject to change. 

UP NEXT

Big Red will hit the road for four consecutive road games from Oct. 11 through Oct. 20.