For Immediate Release           Sept. 17, 2022
 
Cardinals Split Final Day of UTA Invitational
 
ARLINGTON, Texas – The Lamar University volleyball team went 2-1 at the UTA Invitational after recording a split in their two matches Saturday. The Cardinals opened the day with a 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18) victory over New Orleans (in non-conference play) but dropped a 3-2 (24-26, 25-18, 17-25, 25-18, 15-8) heartbreaker to tournament-host UT Arlington Saturday evening.
 
Despite the setback to close out the tournament, Big Red remains a win over the .500 mark on the season (6-5) as they return home Thursday for their first match in Beaumont in a month.
 
Big Red had three players finish with double-figure kills against UNO, including a career-high 13 from Wiktoria Warpechowska. She also added eight blocks and six digs. Warpechowska was joined in double-digits by Kaitlyn Gil (14) and Paige Dugan (13). Newcomer Nylah Encalade just missed double-figures with a nine-kill (.364 attack percentage) performance.
 
As a team the Cardinals hit .226 for the match (54-21-146) while holding the Privateers to a .161 performance.
 
The Cardinals had a huge advantage with their serve in the morning match. Big Red notched 11 service aces and was near perfect on the receive. LU surrendered just two reception errors in the contest.
 
After taking an early 1-0 lead, the Cardinals found themselves in a world of hurt in the second set. UNO jumped out to an 11-3 lead, but before the Privateers could apply any more pressure the Cardinals answered. Big Red trimmed the deficit to one point, 14-13, and the set remaining close, but LU was never able to get over the hump.
 
Putting that set behind them, the Cardinals came in the third and took it to their opponent surging in front and not looking back to record a six-point victory. Needing one more set for the win, the Cards didn't make their fans wait long as Big Red closed out the match with a 25-18 victory in the fourth.
 
The evening match saw Big Red square off against the Mavericks. Despite the loss in the second match, the Cardinals fought hard making UTA earn every point. After falling behind by six late in the first set, LU rallied to pull off a two-point victory in the first. After the Mavericks tied things up in the second, LU rallied back in the third to reclaim the lead. The Cardinals led by two midway through the second when the Cardinals went on a 10-4 run to take the match. Unfortunately, the Cardinals ran out of steam down the stretch as the Mavs escaped with a one-set victory.
 
Following the match, Gil and Encalade were named to the all-tournament team.
 
The Cardinals return to action Thursday when they host Northwestern State in the Southland Conference opener. The match against the Demons will begin at 6 p.m. from McDonald Gym.