LAS CRUCES, New Mexico - Lamar University's volleyball team will travel to the New Mexico State SpringHill Suites Invitational tournament this weekend. The Cardinals will open up against Grambling State on Friday and will then face University of Portland and New Mexico State in a double header on Saturday. 
 
Last Time Out - Lamar vs. University of Houston – Sept 10
 
In last week's midweek clash with an athletic and aggressive University of Houston (5-4) volleyball team, Lamar University (4-3) took one set from the Cougars in front of a rocking crowd at the McDonald Gym, but ultimately fell to U of H three sets to one on Tuesday.
 
Tuesday evening saw Cardinal players perform well, especially Abigail Nash who recorded 14 kills and 14 digs, earning her sixth double-double in seven matches this year and the fourth consecutive match with a double-double. Erin Pequeno had 23 digs and a .960 reception percentage, and Annika Slovak had 38 assists. Malaysia Murdock and Dannisha House had nine kills apiece up the middle, and Mercedes Danrich paced the Cards in blocks with five. The Cardinals currently have four individually ranked offensive and defensive players in the Southland Conference top 15.
  
Lamar vs. Grambling State- Sept. 13 at 2:00 PM
 
Grambling State and Lamar will play each other for the second time in program history and the first time since 2004; Lamar won 3-0 over the Tigers at home.
 
This season, the Lady Tigers are 1- 4 on the year after losing against tourney hosts Florida Atlantic University in straight sets at the Florida Atlantic Invitational (Aug 30), and a similar result was observed against Niagara in the same invitational. The Tigers last weekend hosted Louisiana-Monroe and were on the losing side of a 3-0 decision. They bounced back to win 3-0 versus Tougaloo College Sep.4 , then dropped a three-set loss at Northwestern State on Tuesday.
 
Chasity Nicks has 23 kills this year, averaging 2.56 kills a set. Kabria Dame and Maurisa Harris appear to be the Tigers' main defensive options for the team in digs with 34 a piece - averaging 2.27 digs a set. Kalee Cadwell and Sheila Borders are the primary passers with 48 and 44 assists this year respectively - 3.20 & 2.93 a set.
 
Lamar vs University of Portland- Sept. 14 at 1:00 PM
 
In the opening game on Saturday, Lamar and the University of Portland will face off for the first time in program history. The Pilots are 4-2 this season after opening the year with a two-game winning streak at the Wildcat Invitational, defeating California State University-Northridge and host Weber State 3-1, but followed that up with a loss to UNLV in a five-set thriller.
 
Liz Reich leads the offensive side with 83 kills this season (3.46 kills a set). Carey Williams has 116 digs this season (4.83 a set), and Kellie Hughes is the primary passer with 257 assists, averaging an impressive 10.71 per set.
 
 
Lamar vs New Mexico State- Sept. 14 at 6:00 PM

The Cardinals will close out the NM State Invitational against the tourney hosts. This will be the fifth time in program history that the two sides have faced each other and the second time against NM State at their home ground. Currently the Cardinals trail 3-1 with their last meeting coming in 2006, where the Cardinals lost in straight sets.
 
NM State is one of just 24 undefeated universities in the country after a 6-0 start to the year. The Aggies completed a clean sweep at the War Eagle Invitational in Auburn, Ala., triumphing against Butler, Auburn, and Tennessee in straight sets. They repeated their clean sweep success at the Borderland Invitational, beating Pacific, UTEP, and tourney hosts New Mexico.
 
Savannah Davison and Megan Hart lead the offensive line with 63 and 51 kills this season (3.73 and 3.33 kills apiece per set). Halle Razo appears to the main defensive player with 52 digs this season and expect to see most of the passing duties to be handled by Natalie Mikels (106 assists) and Krysten Garrison (81 assists).
 
Up Next- North Dakota University- Grand Forks - Sept. 20 at 12:30 PM
 
 After completing the New Mexico State SpringHill Suites Invitational, Cardinals fans will have to wait a week to see Lamar volleyball compete again on the road, at the UND Invitational. The next home match for the Cardinals will be October 3 at 7 p.m.
 
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.