BEAUMONT, Texas – In a crucial game for their postseason aspirations, Lamar University volleyball brought out the brooms in a home win over Northwestern State on Thursday night, 3-0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-12). This victory improved the Cardinals to 4-2 at McDonald Gym under head coach Ariel Apolinario.
 
Lamar (12-10, 4-6 SLC) hit 36-15-114 (.184) on the afternoon with seven aces and six blocks. Maja Malinowska led the Cardinals with 16 kills while Keeley Nellis posted a team-high 22 digs.
 
Northwestern State (6-11, 1-7 SLC) finished the match with a hitting percentage of 11.4 percent (32-18-123). The Lady Demons were let down by seven reception errors and five service errors.
 
The Cardinals never trailed in the first set after a blazing 7-1 start. They took advantage of four service errors from NSU while adding in three aces to take the early lead.
 
Both teams traded runs in the second set with timeouts proving to be the ignition point for either side. Tied at 19, the teams alternated points to 23 before the Cardinals scored three of the next four to clinch the set including two kills from Malinowska.
 
An early advantage for Big Red in Set 3 was answered quickly by the Lady Demons as the two sides again were locked in a stalemate as they battled to 20-all. Another strong finish from Big Red would prove to be the difference, however as a 5-2 run sealed the deal for LU.

Lamar travels west on I-10 to face off against Incarnate Word next Thursday at 6 p.m. before returning home to play UT Rio Grande Valley on Saturday at 11 a.m. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.