BEAUMONT, Texas - With their eyes set on the Southland Conference tournament and a re-loaded roster and coaching staff, Lamar University's volleyball team will begin the 2019 season this weekend with the GSU Invitational, hosted by Georgia State University at the GSU Sports Arena. The Cardinals will face Fordham University Friday evening before playing tournament host Georgia State and Western Carolina on Saturday.

Joining head coach Michelle Kuester and graduate assistant Amy Hollowell this year is new assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Haley Eckerman, a three-time Big 12 Player of the Year and two-time AVCA All-American.

In addition to the change at assistant coach, eight freshmen and one transfer join Lamar for the 2019 campaign, replacing the losses of Tomar Thomas, Ivette Dim, Murielle Hlavac, Zahria Scott, and Monica Strohschein to graduation and a few other roster turnovers. Abigale Nash, Nina Pevic, Bre'Ala Box, Mercedes Danrich, Erin Pequeno, Dannisha House, and Alyssa Legette return as the veteran core of the team. The incoming freshmen are Amber Johnson, Steelie Ledbetter, Trinity Sanders, Kaitlyn Gil, Malaysia Murdock, Dylann Guerra, McKenzie Bennett, and Annika Slovak. Hayleigh Moreno joins the team from Southwestern College in Kansas where she was named the school's Builder Award Player of the Year.

"Our incoming freshman class is incredibly impressive. I believe that there will be a lot of new faces who earn significant playing time this fall. Murdock, Gil, Sanders, and Johnson are all incredibly impressive athletes. This team will have a very bright future," said Kuester. "The returners have worked really hard to increase their volleyball IQ and shot selection this spring. We saw immense growth in Abi and Mercedes, and we expect them to make large contributions this fall. Overall, the competition in our team increases with the addition of our incoming class. Everyone will have to prove themselves to earn their playing time."

For a position-by-position breakdown, click on the following links below:

Middle       Hitter      Defensive Specialist/Libero      Setter

Lamar vs. Fordham - August 30 at 3:00 p.m.

Fordham leads the all-time series 1-0 after a three-set victory on August 27, 2005 at the Hurricane Invitaitonal in Tulsa, Okla.

The Rams went 10-17 overall last season and finished 2018 with a 3-11 mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference, tying with Rhode Island for last in the standings. Fordham was predicted for another ninth place finish in the standings this year, the second under Ian Choi. The Rams' seven non-conference wins were a significant improvement though, tied for the second-most by the program in the last six years.

Four Rams graduated this May, including one starter, but over half of the team's blocks and almost 90 percent of their kills return. Kaitlyn Morley, a senior, led the squad with 372 kills in 2018, and she also totaled 295 digs and 15 aces. Classmate Morgan Williams led the defensive effort with 445 digs, averaging 4.28 a set, which is a Fordham single-season record. Williams and Morley each appeared in all 108 sets in 2018, the only Rams to do so. McKenna Lahr, a junior, appeared in all but two sets and had 263 digs, 279 kills, and led in aces with 20. Also returning are Elise Benjamin (second on the team in blocks with 81), Makaela Tanaka (589 assists), Sophia Plett (408 assists), and the 2016 A-10 Rookie of the Year Olivia Fairchild who missed the 2018 season with an injury.

Freshmen Megan Brzozowski, Mallory Lipski, Aria De La Rosa, Chloe Pejouan, and Aneliesa Cartledge join the team for 2019.

Lamar at Georgia State - August 31 at 11:00 a.m.

A 7-19 team in 2018 that finished eighth in the Sun Belt Conference with a 4-12 record, Georgia State enters its sixth year under head coach Sally Polhamus, who is 45-96 in that  time. The Panthers have not won a conference regular season or tournament title since its ASUN Conference membership in 2002, and are picked to finish fifth in the SBC East Division, just ahead of in-state rival Georgia Southern. Lamar is 3-0 against Georgia State in the all-time series, including a five-set victory over the Panthers in McDonald Gym on Sept. 11, 2004.

Returning to the team for the 2019 campaign are seniors Morgan Hash, Madelyn Ott, and Sydney Stroud. Stroud finished 2018 with 200+ kills, and Hash poured in over 100 more despite battling injury. Meisheia Griffin notched 124 blocks last year, the third-most in the conference, and Lauren Bandera led the team with 350 digs. Five freshmen and two transfers join the team this year.

Lamar vs. Western Carolina - August 31 at 3:00 p.m.

Lamar and Western Carolina will meet for the first time on Saturday, wrapping up the GSU Invite for the Cardinals. The Catamounts are guided by Karen Glover, entering her ninth season as head coach with a 102-147 record. Western Carolina was 12-16 in 2018 with a 6-10 mark in the Southern Conference (SoCon), finishing eighth in the league's standings.

11 Catamounts return for 2019 including seniors Aleah Keaton, Meagan Sanchez, and Abigail Veit, juniors Hannah Price and MaKenzie White, and 2018 SoCon All-Freshman team member and current sophomore Merry Gebel. Price, the team's setter, led Western Carolina with 525 assists and added in another 101 kills. Gebel led in kills with 290 and poured in another 18 blocks, and Keaton led in blocks with 85 total, including 14 solo blocks. Sanchez is the team's libero and averaged 4.72 digs a set, narrowly missing 500 digs with 496 for the year.

Brooklyn Poling and Johnna Robinson are incoming freshmen.

Up Next - The Katrinka Crawford Invitational - September 6 & 7 at McDonald Gym

Lamar will host the 2019 Katrinka Crawford Invitational next weekend at McDonald Gym with Prairie View A&M, South Dakota State, and Louisiana-Monroe coming to town. Individual game tickets can be found on the schedule page, and Cardinal fans can still buy the 2019-20 Olympic Sports season pass, which for $60 serves as the season ticket for volleyball, soccer, and softball.