HAMMOND, La. – In their first conference tournament appearance since 2011, Lamar University volleyball fell to two-seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday afternoon, 3-0 (25-25, 25-11, 25-19).
 
Lamar (15-14, 7-9 SLC) hit 28-11-91 (.187) on the afternoon with three blocks. Maja Malinowska led the team in kills (ten) and digs (eight) while Taisha Rhone chipped in seven kills.
 
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (18-10, 12-4 SLC) finished the match with a hitting percentage of 48.4 percent (54-8-95). They also recorded six aces to go with two blocks. 
 
Both teams traded points early in the first set before a 15-4 run from the Islanders blew the frame open. The Cardinals were let down by three reception errors and two service errors down the stretch.
 
AMCC started hot in the second set with an 8-2 run and did not look back. They never trailed in the frame and finished the set with a hitting percentage of .581 and 20 kills.
 
The third set was much more of a back-and-forth affair as the Cardinals responded to an early Islanders' run to pull within one midway through the frame. They could not get over the hump, however, as AMCC rode their experience late to advance in the tournament.
 
Lamar finishes the year with their first winning season since 2009. They also boast the SLC individual freshmen leaders in points, kills, assists, aces and digs.