LAKE CHARLES, La. – Lamar University got out to a slow start against McNeese and never recovered falling by the score of 3-0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-12) Tuesday evening at the McNeese Rec Center. The loss drops the youthful Cardinals to 1-3 (.250) on the season.
 
The Cardinals recorded 21 kills on 106 digs but it was miscues that hurt Big Red in the end. LU was stung by 20 attack errors, seven reception errors and four ball handling errors.
 
McNeese (3-1) came out of the gate firing on all cylinders finishing the opening set with an attack percentage just under .300, a number which only got better as the night wore on.
 
Junior Malaysia Murdock led Big Red with five kills on 18 swings to go along with a block and three digs.
 
The opening set was tied at 10 midway through following a kill from junior Kaitlyn Gil, but it would be the final point for LU over the next five rallies as the homestanding Cowgirls took a five-point lead. After trimming the deficit down to three, McNeese pushed its advantage to as many as eight before taking the first set.
 
The final two sets followed a similar pattern of remaining close through the first half of the set only to see McNeese go on a small run. The Cardinals were unable to go on a sustained run after that to score the neutralizing point.
 
Big Red returns to action Friday when they begin play in the HBU Invitational. The Cardinals will face tournament-host Houston Baptist and Prairie View A&M Friday and close the tournament against Louisiana Tech Saturday.