BEAUMONT, Texas - Lamar University volleyball will return to action this coming Saturday when they travel the short distance to Houston to play Houston Baptist. The Cardinals are currently riding a two-game conference win streak following victories against Nicholls and border rivals McNesse and will try to emulate similar success this weekend. The game is due to key off at 10 A.M.
 
Lamar vs. Houston Baptist – Saturday, October 26 at 10 a.m. – Sharp Gym
The Huskies are currently riding a one-game losing streak in conference play following a defeat against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last Saturday with a 3-1 sets decision. It was almost a year to the day since the Cardinals last matched up against the Huskies, with the match proving to be a close affair for Big Red on home turf with the Huskies securing a 3-2 victory after a two-set fightback from the Cardinals. Big Red leads the head-to-head series 8-7 against the Huskies and will look to improve upon that record this weekend.

The Huskies rank second in the conference for digs, averaging 17.17 digs per set and boast the third-best service ace and block statistics in the conference with 1.55 aces and 2.07 blocks per set. However, their hitting percentage (0.185, 10th), assists per set (11.18, 10th) and kills per set (12.14, 11th) rank amongst the lowest in the Southland.

Morgan Dewyer and Mikayla Vivens seem to be the Huskies offensive options; the pair pack a powerful 1-2 punch. Dewyer is averaging 8.53 assists per game, the fourth highest in the Southland and ranks second in the conference for service aces with 0.47 aces per set. Vivens boasts an average kills per set of 3.25, the fifth highest in the conference and leads the Huskies as the highest individual point scorer (310 points, 5th in Southland).

The Last Time Out

Lamar vs. Nicholls - Saturday, October 19 at 1 p.m. - McDonald Gym
Carried by an incredible six point comeback in the first set, Lamar University grabbed momentum by the horns and ran away with a three-set victory over Nicholls State University on Saturday. Malaysia Murdock led the way with 10 kills on a .500 hitting percentage, two blocks, and two digs, contributing 11 points. Abigale Nash also had 11 points with nine digs, one assist, two blocks, and 10 digs. Dannisha House, Bre'Ala Box, and Kayla Neumann each had six kills, and Annika Slovak had 33 assists and three kills to accompany four digs. Neumann and Nash each had double-digit digs, and Erin Pequeno had another seven digs.

Battle of the Border: Lamar vs. McNesse- Tuesday, 0ctober 22 at 6:30 p.m.- Lake Charles
Battling through at least 10 ties in each set, Lamar University weathered the storm against McNeese State University on Tuesday to win the first Battle of the Border in 2019. Abigale Nash led with 13 kills and 10 digs, her 11th double-double of the season. Malaysia Murdock had nine kills on an .818 hitting percentage, and Kayla Neumann also had nine kills. Dannisha House had another eight kills. Annika Slovak had 39 assists, Erin Pequeno led in digs with 19, and McKenzie Bennett and Neumann each had double-digit digs as well.

Up Next
Following this weekend's match up against the Huskies, the Cards will return home to host UIW (13th, 0-8 SLC) on Halloween. A three-game home stand will open November with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (fourth, 5-3 SLC), New Orleans (fifth, 4-3 SLC), and Southeastern Louisiana (tied sixth, 4-4 SLC) coming to town. Road matches at Stephen F. Austin (first, 8-0 SLC) and Abilene Christian (will close the regular season).