THIBODAUX, La. — Maja Malinowska was dynamite on offense tallying 27 kills as the Lamar University volleyball team won its third straight match with a four-set victory over Nicholls State, 25-16, 28-30, 25-16, 25-14, Saturday afternoon at David R. Stopher Gymnasium.

The Cardinals posted a .340 hitting percentage, their highest since 2019. Malinowska became the first Cardinal to tally 20 or more kills with a hitting percentage above .500 since 2018.

In the opening set, LU trailed before scoring three unanswered points to take an 11-9 lead. Taisha Rhone and Malinowska each had a kill while Hailey McEllrath served up an ace during the run.

The Cardinals went on a 5-0 run in the middle of the set to increase their lead to six. Rhone fueled the run by serving up three straight aces.

LU went on to outscore the Colonels, 5-1, down the final stretch. Addison Stanley secured the set point with a service ace.

The second set was an entirely different story as there were 17 ties in the score.

LU was three points away from taking the set until the Colonels surged back to tie the score at 22-all after going on a 5-0 run.

The pendulum swung back and forth until the Colonels closed out the set on a 3-0 run to tie up the match.

Nicholls won its first set since its conference opener on Sept. 25 after having been swept in its last four matches.

LU regrouped in the third set and took a 7-2 lead after scoring four unanswered points.

Malinowska tallied two straight kills and then teamed up for a block alongside Daniella Udegbunam to spark a 3-0 run to increase LU's lead to six.

The Cardinals outscored Nicholls, 5-1, in the final moments to take a 2-1 match lead. Malinowska got the set point with a kill.

To begin the fourth set, four of the six points were scored off kills by Malinowska.

Malinowska continued her dominance by tallying three straight kills to increase LU's lead to 13-7.

The Colonels did not go down quietly as they chipped the deficit down to two points, but the Cardinals slammed down on the accelerator closing out the set on an 8-0 run.

Riley Johnson tallied the match point with a kill.

RECORDS: LU (10-11, 3-3); Nicholls (10-9, 0-6)

MATCH NOTES

• Malinowska tallied her 10th double-double of the season as she finished with 27 kills, 11 digs, three block assists and one service ace.
• Malinowska tallied the second most kills in a four-set match in program history, one shy of tying the record of 28 set by Erica Brown in 2004 vs. East Carolina.
• Malinowska hit an impressive .571, the highest hitting percentage in a match this season.
• Malinowska surpassed her career high percentage of .485 tallied back on Sept, 17, 2024 vs. Prairie View A&M.
• Malinowska becomes the first Cardinal to hit .500 or better with 10 or more kills since Wiktoria Warpechowska in 2023 (14 kills / .500 vs. Nicholls).
• The last time a Cardinal tallied 20 or more kills and a hitting percentage above .500 was in 2018 when Tomar Thomas had 20 kills and a .625 percentage during a four-set match vs. Mercer.
• Malinowska surpassed the season high mark for kills in a match which was 26 set by Rhone on Sept. 16 vs. UL Monroe.
• Lyric Jordan finished with 17 kills, one block assist and two digs.
• Rhone added 14 kills, four service aces, three block assists and eight digs.
• The Cardinals hit a season high .340 for the match. This marked the first time LU hit above .330 since 2019 vs. Prairie View A&M (.409).
• Gonzalez tallied a season high 55 assists to along with 10 digs on the defensive end.
• LU finished with 16 total blocks. Udegbunam finished with six block assists.
• Gabby Baker led the back line with 22 digs while she also had two assists.
• Baker is now 21 digs away from tying the 10th highest dig total in a season in program history. The record is 428 shared by Shanda Hart (2000) and Natalie Sarver (2002).

UP NEXT

The Cardinals return home Thursday, Oct. 16 to take on Incarnate Word at 6 p.m.