BEAUMONT, Texas – Sitting just one spot outside of the top eight in the conference, Lamar University volleyball enters a crucial week featuring their final two home games of the regular season. They welcome in Nicholls to McDonald Gym on Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. before McNeese travels west for a Saturday clash at 1 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
LAST TIME OUT
Lamar (12-12, 4-8 SLC) dropped a pair of contests last week falling on the road to Incarnate Word on Thursday evening before being on the wrong side of a home sweep against UT Rio Grande Valley over the weekend.
KEY STORYLINES
Big Red currently sit in ninth place in the Southland standings, just one game behind McNeese and two games behind Houston Christian and Texas A&M-Commerce. With just four matches remaining in the season, the Cardinals need to break into the top eight to clinch a postseason berth.
Lamar finishes the regular season with home-and-homes against Nicholls and McNeese with the McDonald Gym portion of those coming up this week. Based on likely results around them in the Southland, the Cardinals likely need to win three of these four matches to make it into to conference tournament bracket.
Head coach Ariel Apolinario emptied out his bench in the final sets of the last two matches looking to identify more options as the team enters the stretch run. While six players played in all six sets last week, 16 of 18 made it onto the court looking to secure their spot in the rotation.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Maja Malinowska will be counted on as the primary offensive weapon down the stretch for Big Red. She currently ranks fourth nationally among freshmen in kills (3.72/set) while tallying ten double-doubles on the season with kills and digs.
Alexa Gonzalez and
Keeley Nellis also rank high nationally among freshmen statistically this season. Gonzalez ranks sixth in assists (9.37/set) and ninth in aces (0.40/set) while Nellis is seventh in digs (4.34/set).
Freedom Stephenson will be honored this Saturday in her last game at McDonald Gym. She has thus far played in 41 matches and 111 sets in her Cardinal career while racking up 11 double-figure dig efforts including a career-high 20 against Grambling last season.
OPPONENT INFO: Nicholls (7-16, 2-10 SLC)
Time: Thursday at 6 p.m.
Series Record: LU 33-14
Last Meeting: LU 3-1 (9/6/24)
Lamar already has a victory over Nicholls this season back in nonconference play in early September. The Colonels enter Thursday on a six-game losing streak having only won two sets in that span. The duo of Leah Linares Castro (3.49 kills/set) and Kenley Nonato (4.30 digs/set) lead their team in what will be an important game for the Cardinals.
OPPONENT INFO: McNeese (9-15, 5-7 SLC)
Time: Saturday at 1 p.m.
Series Record: LU 46-35
Last Meeting: MSU 3-0 (11/2/23)
The Cardinals will seek their first home win against the Cowgirls since 2015. McNeese has won their last two games in conference play after a five-game slide. This match along with Lamar's trip to Lake Charles next Thursday could ultimately decide the final spot in the conference tournament.
McNeese is led by McKenzie Moore, the conference leader in points (4.88/set) and kills (4.40/set). Meanwhile, the Cowgirls have led the Southland in digs in conference play (16.78/set) with their efforts buoyed by Bailey Tillman, who ranks second in Southland play (5.78/set).
