BEAUMONT, Texas - For the second time in as many games, Lamar University's volleyball team fought back from the brink of defeat to win a five-set match. The Cards faced match point twice and used a 4-0 run to capture victory over the University of New Orleans on Saturday.
 

Cardinals Win!!! @LamarVBall defeats UNO in the 5th set to pickup their 2nd straight conference win!! #WeAreLU pic.twitter.com/lpm5DOG8x1

— Lamar Cardinals (@LamarAthletics) October 6, 2018

"I didn't know how we were going to be able to respond today after that long match Thursday," said head coach Michelle Kuester. "We came out really strong and then we had that let up. UNO did a great job and came out way more aggressive in the third and fourth than what they did in the first and second, and it took us a couple of sets to adjust to them but by the fifth we'd made a bit of a lineup change to even up our matchup. It ended up working out for us."

Ivette Dim was one of four Cards with double-digit kills. The senior had 14, joined by Abigale Nash (12), Tomar Thomas (10), and Dannisha House (10). Bre'Ala Box hit .692 on the afternoon with nine kills as well. Zahria Scott (12) and Erin Pequeno (14) had double-digit digs, and Alyssa Legette (28) and Kyla Rogers (25) combined for 53 of the Cards' 59 assists.

34 ties and 15 lead changes took place from sets 1 to 5, though just two ties and one lead change took place in the first game. UNO led by as much as five, 12-7, before LU came storming back with an 8-1 run of its own, capturing the lead 15-13. Momentum was solidly in Big Red's corner for the rest of the set, and LU took a 25-21 decision. Abigale Nash had four of her 12 total kills in the first set, and Alyssa Legette led defensively with three digs.

New Orleans opened the second set with a 5-0 run before the Cardinals got back on track, winning eight of the next 10 points to lead 8-7. Momentum swung back to UNO for the next four points, but Lamar knotted the game back up at 13-13 amd took the lead for good at 17-16. The Cards closed the set with an 8-4 run to win the game 25-20.

Eight ties and two lead changes took place in a hotly contested third set, and the outcome wasn't evident until the final few points. Lamar trailed by four late, but a 4-0 run evened the score at 20-20. A service error cut that comeback short though, and UNO took five of the final six to escape elimination and force a fourth set.

New Orleans again sat in the driver's set for most of the fourth, but Lamar refused to back down, pulling within two points, 19-17, and forcing a Privateer timeout. New Orleans responded well and reached set point, 24-20, but Lamar held its ground twice. A long rally in the final point of the set almost went Big Red's way, but a well-placed kill by UNO gave the set to the Privateers, 25-23.

An incredible 12 ties and seven lead changes took place in a rowdy and raucous fifth set. Neither team led by more than two the entire game, and the game was evened up again at 12-12. It appeared as though New Orleans would capture the fifth set when it took a 14-12 lead, but Kuester called a well-timed stoppage of play and talked with her team. Whatever she said seemed to work as the Cardinals won four straight points, capturing the set 16-14 and the match 3-2. An impressive crowd cheered wildly as Nina Pevic spiked the ball into the court, cinching another improbable comeback for the Cards.

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

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 was proud to make Natalie Smith's jersey the first volleyball number to be retired in program history.

Joining Smith was over two dozen other Cardinal volleyball alumni, reaching back all the way to the 1971 season. Smith's jersey retirement took place with Lamar's President, Dr. Kenneth R. Evans, and Director of Athletics Marco Born in a pre-game ceremony, and the alumni recognition took place between Sets 2 and 3 of Saturday's match.