BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University volleyball is preparing for its ninth, 10^th and 11^th matches of the season, all of which have been away from McDonald Gym, when they travel to Las Vegas, Nev., to compete in the UNLV Invitational. The three-day, three-team tournament will begin Thursday and run through Saturday. Big Red will open against Portland Thursday, followed by a match against Coppin State (Friday) and then close the tournament out Saturday against tournament-host UNLV.
 
While it has been a daunting schedule for the Red and White, the Cards showed signs of breaking out of slump last Friday winning two sets and taking a fourth-set lead against Little Rock before the Trojans rallied late for the win. Lamar also looked strong against Louisiana Tech before the Lady Techsters managed to pull out a victory in four sets.
 
The Portland Pilots (4-5) have had an up and down start to their 2023 season. After opening the year with a split against two Southland Conference foes (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, win and Nicholls, loss), the Pilots have continued the trend of rotating wins and losses, but enter Thursday's showdown having dropped a match to Eastern Washington, and hasn't lost more than two-straight matches all year. The match – which is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. Thursday – will be just the second meeting between the two programs. The only other meeting came during the 2019 season when the Cardinals dropped a 3-1 decision to the Pilots in Las Cruces, N.M.
 
Just 24 hours later, the Cardinals will return to the court to face a Coppin State squad that is off to one of its best starts in school history. The Eagles are 8-1 (.889) on the season and have won seven consecutive matches since an early-season setback at Auburn. Coppin State will face UNLV Thursday before taking on Lamar. The match between the two schools – which will be the first meeting in volleyball – will begin at 3 p.m.
 
Big Red will take on the Running Rebels Saturday to close out the tournament. UNLV enters the weekend a win over .500 (5-4) on the season and has won three of its last four matches. All three of those victories have been shutouts. The match will begin at 3 p.m. and will be the second meeting between the two schools. The Running Rebels won that meeting, 3-1, during the 2003 season.