BEAUMONT, Texas – In the second of a four-game homestand, Lamar University's volleyball team will look for its second straight Southland Conference win Saturday when McNeese State University comes to town. The Cards and Cowgirls will meet in the Battle of the Border at 1 p.m. in McDonald Gym.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT – INCARNATE WORD
In a Card vs. Card volleyball match Tuesday night in the McDonald Gym, Abigale Nash was key in Lamar University's four-set win over the University of the Incarnate Word. The freshman from Tuscon, Ariz., had 18 kills and 13 digs, her first collegiate double-double.

Alyssa Legette also had her first career double-double with 28 assists and 11 digs, and Erin Pequeno had 28 digs. Tomar Thomas poured in an additional 17 kills.

"I thought our student-athletes did a really good job of fighting, playing really good defense, and being relentless in pursuit of the ball," said head coach Michelle Kuester. "That's something that we've really focused on in practice the last week or so, and seeing that pay off and show up on the floor is really good as a coach."
 
Lamar vs. McNeese – Sept. 29 at 1 p.m.
The Lamar University-McNeese State rivalry is a storied one that stretches back all the way to 1983, with the 70th meeting between the two teams happening this Saturday. The Redbirds hold a 42-27 advantage all-time over the Cowgirls, including a 27-8 mark at home, but McNeese does hold recent bragging rights with seven wins in the last 10 meetings, including a four-set victory over Lamar on Oct. 21 of last season.
 
Ashleigh Fitzgerald is in her fifth season as head coach of McNeese and holds a 61-85 overall record in Lake Charles, La. Fitzgerald has been a head coach for 10 seasons in total, coming to McNeese after five seasons at Drury, where she went 87-74. Her overall record is 148-159.
 
McNeese is 2-15 this season and winless (0-2) in the Southland with four-set losses at Sam Houston State and at Abilene Christian.
 
The Cowgirls rank near the bottom of the Southland in kills per set (11th, 10.46), hitting percentage (10th, .180), digs per set (11th, 13.07), and aces per set (12th, 1.05), but their blocks per set (1.98) are near the middle of the SLC.
 
Paige Havel is statistically the sixth-best middle blocker in the conference, averaging 1.11 blocks a set, and her 59 total blocks on the year are the third-most in the league. Angela McGownd ranks fourth in the Southland in total digs this year with 235.
 
Offensively, Keegan Nelms and Katelyn Elliott are both players to watch as both average over two kills a set and both have over 100 kills in 2018. Alexandra Aguilera is the best Cowgirl server with 13 aces.
 
UP NEXT

The Cardinals will continue their SLC homestand next week with Nicholls on Oct. 4 and New Orleans at Oct. 6. Big Red will then hit the road for four consecutive road games from Oct. 11 through Oct. 20.