BEAUMONT, Texas — Round 2 of the Battle at the Border against rival McNeese kicks off the final three weeks of the regular season.

Lamar University volleyball returns home for two matches this week as it is currently in a two-way tie for third place in the Southland Conference, one game behind second place Southeastern Louisiana.
CATCHING UP: It's been 18 days since the two rivals last met in Lake Charles, La. … McNeese has dropped seven of its last eight matches … Most recently, the Cowgirls suffered a four-set loss to A&M-Corpus Christi, extending their losing skid to three.

OFFENSIVE LEADERS: Senior outside hitter Kayla Wilson leads the way with 233 kills and 243 points … Freshman setter Kinga Ziolkowska has a team high 397 assists while sophomore setter Corynne Hausler is second with 350 … Ziolkowska also leads the offense with 18 service aces while senior libero Lauren Fuller is second with 17.

DEFENSIVE LEADERS: Fuller leads the defense with 264 digs … Freshman middle blocker / outside hitter Ava Henry has a team 44 total blocks (35 block assists, nine solo blocks) while senior middle blocker Jordan Gamble is second with 39 total blocks (36 block assists, three solo blocks).

• SFA (14-7, 9-1)
• UTRGV (14-7, 9-1)
• Southeastern Louisiana (17-6, 9-2)
• Lamar (14-11, 7-3)
• UIW (11-11, 7-3)
• HCU (11-12, 6-4)
• A&M-Corpus Christi (9-13, 5-5)
• East Texas A&M (6-15, 4-6)
• McNeese (6-16, 2-8)
• New Orleans (7-17, 2-9)
• Nicholls (11-12, 1-9)
• Northwestern State (1-23, 0-10)

McNeese vs. Lamar: LU is 48-36 all-time vs. McNeese since the first meeting in 1979 … Earlier this season, the Cardinals notched a four-set win, their first victory in Lake Charles since Oct. 22, 2019 … LU is 27-12 vs. the Cowgirls in Beaumont … In 2024, the Cardinals defeated McNeese in five sets to mark their first win over the Cowgirls in Beaumont since Oct. 1, 2015.
LEADING THE CONFERENCE: LU leads the Southland Conference in six of the seven categories — points (1,548.5), assists (1,102), kills (1,166), blocks (221.5), service aces (161) and digs (1,639).

NATIONALLY RANKED: The Cardinals rank third in Division I in both digs and attacks (3,575), eighth in total blocks, 10th in assists,18th in kills and 20th in service aces … LU averages 16.72 digs per set as a team, which ranks 18th in Division I.

GO, GABBY, GO: Gabby Baker is ranked second in Division I in total digs (494) … Gardner-Webb's Nalani McBride is the leader with 530 digs … Baker is one of two freshmen in the top five in total digs (East Texas A&M's Jade Washington is fifth with 451 digs) … Baker leads the Southland Conference in digs while she is second in digs per set (5.04) … Baker is now ranked third all-time in program history for digs in a season … Baker is 40 digs away from tying Miriam Erickson (534 digs in 1992) for the second most digs recorded in a season.

OFFENSIVE LEADER: Maja Malinowska leads the conference in kills (317) and points (367) … She ranks second in the conference in points per set (4.37) and third in kills per set (3.77) … Defensively, Malinowska is eighth in the conference in digs (290) … Malinowska has recorded 14 double-doubles this season … She has posted seven double-double performances in her last seven matches.

BRINGING THE BOOM: Daniella Udegbunam leads the Southland Conference in total blocks (112) and solo blocks (32) while she is second in block assists (80) … Udegbunam ranks seventh in total blocks in Division I while she is second in solo blocks … Udegbunam becomes the first Cardinal to tally 100 or more total blocks in a season since Tytiana Johnson (103 total blocks) and Wiktoria Warpechowska (100 total blocks) in 2022.

THIS AND THAT: Alexa Gonzalez is third in the Southland Conference in assists (725) and tied for third in service aces (35) … Gonzalez has recorded nine double-doubles this season … Taisha Rhone ranks fifth in the conference in kills (244) and points (292) … Kinley Elms is ninth in the conference in kills (173) and points (193).

GAME HIGHS: Malinowska's .571 attack percentage vs. Nicholls is the highest in a match since 2018: (Tomar Thomas: 20 kills / .625 vs. Prairie View A&M) … Malinowska's 27 kills in a four-set win over Nicholls are the second most tallied in a four-set match in program history … Baker's 38 digs vs. UL Monroe are the most in a five-set match in program history surpassing the mark of 37 digs set by Kaeden Robinson in 2023 vs. Nicholls (Baker's 38 digs are currently tied for sixth most in a five-set match in Division I this season)  … Udegbunam's 14 total blocks vs. Texas Southern are the second most recorded in a five-set match in program history (Udegbunam's 14 total blocks are currently tied for fourth most in a five-set match in Division I this season).

THAT WINNING FEELING: LU has recorded its longest winning streak since 2008 … The Cardinals are trying to post back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2008 (17-12) and 2009 (15-14).

HOME SWEET HOME: LU is trying to post back-to-back seasons of .500 or better at home since 2018 (7-5) and 2019 (6-6) … The Cardinals have gone 13-5 at home the last two seasons.

FOUR SETS: The Cardinals are 7-2 in four set matches … Five of the last seven wins have been in four sets.

GETTING RECOGNIZED: LU has had three players recognized as Southland Conference Players of the Week this season: Baker (Defensive Player of the Week / Sept. 22), Malinowska (Offensive Player of the Week / Oct. 20) and Gonzalez (Setter of the Week / Oct. 20).

MILESTONE MOMENT: LU had two setters eclipse the 1,000-assist career mark this season … Jo Moffitt reached 1,005 career assists in her three-year career while Gonzalez now has 1,582 in her two-year career.