BEAUMONT, Texas – Fresh off a successful outing at North Alabama, the Lamar University volleyball team returns to action Friday at the New Orleans Tournament. While the Cardinals will travel to the site of a Southland Conference opponent, Big Red will not face New Orleans in the non-conference tournament. The Cardinals will play two matches beginning Friday with a 1:30 p.m. showdown against Southern, and they will follow that up 24 hours later with a contest against Texas Southern.
 
Under first-year LU head coach Brandon Crisp, the Cardinals enter the weekend with a shot at equaling their win total from all of last season. LU is halfway there after a successful trip to UNA last week that saw wins over New Orleans (non-conference) and Grambling State. The Cardinals left that tournament posting a 2-1 record and sit just a match under .500 on the season (2-3).
 
The Cardinals head to the Big Easy looking to win consecutive matches for the first time since 2019 – when LU rattled off four straight. LU doesn't have a long history against the other two schools they will be facing but it is one that is in the Cards' favor. The Cardinals are a combined 16-1 against the two schools with a 4-0 all-time record against Southern and a 12-1 mark (.923) against Texas Southern. The lone LU loss against the two schools came in 2016 when the Cardinals dropped a 3-2 decision at Texas Southern.
 
TSU enters the weekend looking to get in the win column. The Tigers have started the year 0-4 but will face Western Illinois and New Orleans before taking on the Cardinals.
 
It's been an equally tough start for Southern. The Jaguars are 0-6 dropping three matches in tournaments at Memphis and Nicholls. Southern has won one set (coming against Memphis) on the season. The match against LU will be their second of the tournament as Southern will take on host New Orleans before facing the Cardinals.