HOUSTON, Texas – Hitting the road again but not traveling very far, Lamar University's volleyball team returns to action Friday and Saturday in the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup, hosted by the University of Houston.
 
The Last Time Out – Cardinal Classic
 
LU was aggressive offensively with 126 kills to its opponents' 115, and the Cards were rewarded with a 2-1 weekend in Big Red's home tourney, the 2018 Cardinal Classic. Lamar won in four sets over Texas Southern and Southern and almost forced a fifth set against Howard. Defense was also key for the Redbirds in all three matches; LU had 26 total blocks over the weekend to just 18 combined by Howard, Southern, and Texas Southern.
 
Education First Player of the Week Tomar Thomas led LU offensively with 35 kills in three matches, averaging 2.92 kills a set. She had 17 digs, six aces, and five total blocks as well. Several other Cardinals impressed including Ivette Dim (13 total blocks, 17 kills), Abigale Nash (17 kills, 30 digs), and the split-time setters Kyla Rogers (59 assists, three aces, 15 digs) and Alyssa Legette (50 assists, 14 digs, six aces).

Lamar vs. Cornell – September 7 at 2 p.m.

Lamar has faced Cornell just once, a 3-2 victory over the Big Red Bears in Ithaca, New York. In its 46-year history Cornell has played just one other Southland Conference school – a loss to Sam Houston State.
 
Cornell is 2-1 this year with five-set wins over Buffalo and Siena and a three-set loss to St. John's in Cornell's own tournament. Trudy Vande Berg, the 2017 Ivy League Coach of the Year, is in her fourth season as the head coach of Cornell. Vande Berg is 32-42 as the head coach and spent three years prior as its top assistant.
 
Carla Sganderlla paces Big Red's offense with 31 kills, averaging 3.10 a set. Lily Barber had 59 digs in three matches (4.54 a set), and Jada Stackhouse had 14 total blocks (1.27 a set).

Lamar vs. Houston – September 8 at 12 p.m.

The Cardinals are 8-17 all-time against the University of Houston, including 5-9 in Houston's Alumni Center. The Cougars have won the last six meetings between the two programs with LU's last win coming in 2002, a three-set sweep of UH in Houston.
 
Houston is off to an incredibly hot start this season with an 8-0 record; the Cougs have wins over SLC programs New Orleans, Nicholls, and Sam Houston State as well as victories at Louisiana-Lafayette and against Nebraska-Omaha.
 
Kaddie Platt has been head coach of the University of Houston for six years and is no stranger to the Southland; she was the head coach of Houston Baptist from 1995 to 2011. The 23-year coaching veteran has almost 600 career wins including an 85-107 record at UH.
 
Megan Duncan has been a force at outside hitter with 97 kills, averaging 3.59 a set. The Plano, Texas, native is also second on the team in digs with 65 on the year, and she has 17 total blocks. Abby Irvine (163 assists) and Katie Krebs (146 assists) have split the passing duties with both averaging over five assists a set, and Kendall Haywood has been a brick wall at the net with 32 total blocks.
 
Lamar was originally scheduled to play a third opponent in the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup, but its match against the University of Texas-San Antonio was cancelled due to conflicts with Houston's football game.