Box Score BEAUMONT, Texas – After waiting for the ninth game of the season last year to pick up their first win, Lamar University didn't make their fans wait nearly as long for win No. 1 in 2021. The Cardinals defeated Prairie View A&M, 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-12) in the season-opening match and recorded a split on the opening day of the Katrinka Crawford Invitational at McDonald Gym.
 
Big Red's second match was against Oral Roberts, and after a slow start the Cardinals battled back to take the third set but fell 3-1 (16-25, 19-25, 25-16, 22-25) in the end.
 
The Cardinals waisted no time getting their first victory of the season with an impressive 3-0 victory over Prairie View A&M – the 2020 SWAC runner ups. Big Red jumped on the scoreboard quickly with a dominant 25-14 victory in the opening set.
 
The second set was more of a nail biter. After the Cardinals took an early two-point lead, head coach Jordan Lay's squad watched Prairie View A&M score 11 of the set's next 17 points to claim a three-point decision. After a timeout, LU settled down and restored order drawing even at 14. After the equalizing point, the Cardinals got a service ace from Paige Dugan, followed by two Dugan kills to take a three-point lead. The set would be close the rest of the way, but after trailing by one late Big Red scored the set's final four points to take a commanding 2-0 sets lead. The third set was similar to the first as the Red and White raced out to a huge advantage (10-0) and never looked back.
 
Unfortunately, the Cardinals struggled out of the gate in their second match. After dropping the first two sets, LU battled back in the third to steal back the momentum with a 25-16 victory. The Cards carried that momentum into a very tight set four only to see the Golden Eagles take a slim lead late and hold on for the victory.
 
The Cardinals were led on the day by junior Kaitlyn Gil and freshman Paige Duggan. Gil finished the day with 20 kills on 61 attempts with 10 errors, while Dugan posted a team-best 27 kills on 58 attempts, while hitting over .300 on the day. Junior Malaysia Murdock added 16 kills and six blocks in the two matches.
 
The Cardinals close out the Katrinka Crawford Saturday with a 1 p.m. match against UL-Monroe from McDonald Gym.