BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University volleyball looks to snap a pair of streaks this week as they continue Southland Conference play. They welcome back Stephen F. Austin as a conference opponent in McDonald Gym on Tuesday night at 6:30 a.m. before traveling to take on Houston Christian on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. The match against the Lumberjacks will be streamed on ESPN+.
LAST TIME OUT
Lamar (10-6, 2-2 SLC) earned a home sweep over Texas A&M-Commerce on Thursday night to stay undefeated at McDonald Gym this season. They then fell on the road on Saturday afternoon at the hands of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
KEY STORYLINES
The win over the Lions on Thursday clinched the first double-digit win season for Lamar since 2015 in head coach Ariel Apolinario's first year at the helm. He and his team now set their sights on chasing down a winning record for the first time since 2009.
The Cardinals continue to search for consistency in conference play with last week's slate telling two different stories. They held TAMU-C to a hitting percentage of .140 but allowed TAMU-CC to hit .430 with just five attacking errors, the fewest forced by the Cardinals since 2021.
Service success has also been coupled with service woes for Big Red this year. The team leads the conference in aces (1.72/set) but has struggled with service errors at times reaching the double-digit mark eight times this season.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
A freshmen trio leads the way for the Cardinals statistically with all three ranking in the top four in the Southland in various categories.
Alexa Gonzalez ranks second in the conference in assists (10.31/set) while
Maja Malinowska ranks third in kills (3.92/set) and fourth in points (4.25/set).
Keeley Nellis also ranks second in digs (4.65s/set) and fourth in aces (0.41/set).
Taisha Rhone has been doing a bit of everything for Big Red in conference play. Over the last four games, she ranks third on the team in points (1.92/set) and digs (2.58/set) while ranking third in the conference in aces (0.50/set).
As of late,
Ashlyn Gamble has become a force at the net for Lamar with ten total blocks last week including a career-high six against UNO. Her stellar play has also earned her more attempts on the attacking front which she is taking advantage of as shown by a hitting percentage of .462 in the Big Easy.
OPPONENT INFO: Stephen F. Austin (12-5, 4-0 SLC)
Time: Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Series Record: SFA 40-30
Last Meeting: SFA 3-0 (10/28/21)
A rivalry is renewed on Tuesday when the Lumberjacks come to Beaumont as a rejoined member of the Southland Conference. SFA has had the Cardinals' number as of late having won the last 18 meetings with Lamar looking for their first win in the series since 2011.
Five wins to start the year were followed by five losses for SFA, but the Lumberjacks enter this contest on a seven-game winning streak including four straight conference victories to open their SLC slate. The preseason favorites are led by the strong defensive tandem of Kyanna Creecy, who ranks second in the SLC in hitting percentage (.364) and fifth in blocks (1.03/set), and Izabella Ortiz, who ranks fifth in hitting percentage (.328) and sixth in blocks (1.00/set).
OPPONENT INFO: Houston Christian (5-10, 2-2 SLC)
Time: Saturday at 11 a.m.
Series Record: HCU 14-8
Last Meeting: HCU 3-0 (10/24/23)
The Cardinals will look to snap a nine-game slide against the Huskies dating back to 2016. After a tough nonconference slate, HCU has split their four conference matchups this season with wins over Nicholls and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and losses to SFA and UT Rio Grande Valley.
Statistically, HCU is led by preseason All-SLC first team selection Audrey Pearce who leads the conference in hitting percentage (.365) and ranks third in blocks (1.20/set). Grace McLaughlin ranks third in assists (10.21/set) while Emerald Jacobs earned offensive player of the week honors last week.
