JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Opening her inaugural season as a head coach, Michelle Kuester and the rest of the Lamar University volleyball team are headed southeast to Jacksonville State University this weekend for a two-day Jax State Invitational. The Cardinals will face Mercer, Jacksonville State, and Arkansas-Little Rock.
 
The 2018 offseason featured significant change on the roster and in the coaching staff, with Kuester taking the reins as head coach of the Cards at the end of the 2017 season. The former New Mexico State standout, McNeese assistant coach, and LU assistant installed a new offense and defense while adding a former head of player development at New Mexico State, Chelsea Rose, to her staff as her recruiting coordinator. Former Big Red standout Amy Hollowell also joined the staff as a graduate assistant as she continues her education.
 
"This upcoming year we will have a veteran team mixed with some newcomers that will make a big impact," said Kuester on the official report date for LU Volleyball. "The team is coming back hungry and excited for a new year. They have been great about buying into the new system and putting in extra work to make the improvements we need to see for the fall. I think Lamar fans can expect to see a more fiery and competitive team than what they have seen in the past."
 
Preseason All-Southland Conference Second Team member Tomar Thomas returns for the Cards as an outside hitter and middle blocker, and she's joined by seven other returnees, bringing back a full 75 percent of last season's points with them. The team will experience the most change at setter, where Moerani Maire and Kyla Rogers are both new to the team. For a full breakdown of the 2018 Cardinals by position, click here.
 
Lamar vs. Mercer – August 24 at 11:30 a.m.

The all-time series between Mercer and Lamar stands at 1-1. Lamar took a three-set win over the Bears on Sept. 11, 1993, at the SHSU Classic in Huntsville, Texas, and Mercer emerged victorious in a four-set match on Sept. 3, 2004, at the City Hotel & Bistro Invitational.
 
Mercer went 10-21 last season with a 3-13 mark in the SoCon. The Bears made the conference tournament and advanced to the semi-finals before falling to regular season SoCon champs Furman, 3-1. Mercer returns three starters, including two seniors, from 2017, and was picked seventh in the SoCon coaches poll for the third straight year.
 
Paige Alsten, a senior middle blocker, was the lone All-SoCon Preseason Team member after leading her team in blocks (109) last year. Their libero, sophomore Emilee Wissmach, had 397 digs as a freshman and will once again anchor the defense. Seven newcomers include hitters Ellie Miller, Annie Karle, Brittany Major, and Roberta Todd, setter Molly Hackett, middle blocker Alexia Morey, and libero Megan Smith.
 
Lamar at Jacksonville State – August 24 at 7 p.m.

Lamar and Jacksonville State will meet on the court for the first time Friday evening, though Big Red does have a combined 9-1 record against the two schools Jacksonville State is most often confused with, Jacksonville University and Jackson State.
 
Todd Garvey takes over a JSU program that went 23-13 last season and 9-7 in the Ohio Valley Conference in his first season as a collegiate head coach, though he was the associate head coach of Lipscomb University in 2017 and a prep high school coach from 2007-14.
 
Notable returnees from last season's team are All-OVC middle blocker Mackenzie Rombach and seniors Katie Will and Ashley Clingan. Six newcomers will also be featured including East Tennessee State transfer Lexie Libs and Bradley transfer Jade Humphrey. Sadie Naderson and Addie Halverson return from an injury and a redshirt, respectively.
 
The Gamecocks are picked to finish seventh of 12 teams in the OVC.
 
Lamar vs Little Rock – August 25 at 9 a.m.

Big Red is 7-5 over UALR, including 3-0 at home, 3-2 in neutral site competition, and 1-3 in Little Rock, Ark. The Cards and Trojans have played each other only once since 1997 – a three-set match that went UALR's way on Sept. 12, 2014.
 
The Trojans went 9-19 in 2017 with a 5-11 mark in the Sun Belt, missing the conference tournament. UALR is in its 31^st season under Van Compton, who holds a 508-389 record with Little Rock, including a 238-124 mark in the SBC.
 
Seven players return for Little Rock in this year's campaign including seniors Taylor Lindberg, Veronica Marin, and Sydnee Martin. Marin's .327 hitting percentage was the third-best in the SBC while averaging 1.10 blocks per set, fourth in the conference. Martin had 4.53 digs per set, fifth in the league, and her 507 total digs were the third-most in a single season by a Trojan. Lindberg averaged 9.22 assists per set in 2017, second-best among returning Sun Belt student-athletes.
 
UALR was picked to finish fifth in the Sun Belt's West Division in the SBC Preseason Poll.