HUNTSVILLE, Texas – In their final match at the Bearkat Classic, Lamar University volleyball continued their best start to a season since 2016 with a sweep over Texas Southern on Saturday, 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-14).
 
Lamar (8-4) finished the match hitting 40-17-121 (.190) from the floor with five aces and ten blocks. Lyric Jordan led the Cardinals in kills with 16 while Maja Malinowska recorded her seventh double-double of the year with 13 kills and 12 digs. Keeley Nellis tallied a team-high 18 digs while Jordan and Annie Cathey each racked up five blocks.
 
SHSU (1-10) ended the match with an attack rate of 6.9 percent (32-23-131). They also recorded five aces and 12 blocks, but six service errors and 23 attacking errors proved costly in the end.
 
The Tigers led for most of the first set, but the Cardinals stayed within striking distance and tied things up at 22. They then fought off two match points for Texas Southern and scored the final four points of the set capped by an ace from Alexa Gonzalez.
 
After the two teams traded the first eight points of the second set, Big Red reeled off a quick 7-1 run to give them a lead they would not relinquish. The Tigers pulled to within one point late, but back-to-back kills from Jordan finished things off.
 
Texas Southern kept things close to start the third set before a 14-1 run turned the tide in favor of Lamar. Six kills and eight digs from Malinowska along with two aces from Gonzalez helped buoy that stretch.
 
Lamar begins conference play next week with a pair of road games against Southeastern Louisiana on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and New Orleans on Saturday at 1 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.