BEAUMONT, Texas — Lamar University volleyball wraps up its three-game homestand by taking on the New Orleans Privateers on Saturday morning.

The Cardinals are trying to break free from a three-game losing skid.
2025 SCHEDULE: The Privateers have dropped five of their last six contests … New Orleans is riding a two-game skid after suffering a five-set loss to McNeese and a sweep to Stephen F. Austin … New Orleans opened Southland Conference play with a five-set win over Nicholls.

2025 RECORD: 6-10 (1-2 SLC)

OFFENSIVE LEADERS: Senior middle blocker / outside hitter Courtney Roundtree leads the team with 161 kills and 183 points … Graduate student and opposite Alessandra Meoni ranks second on the team with 126 kills … Junior setter Defne Eciroglu has a team-high 430 assists … Freshman libero / defensive specialist Ella Moss leads the offense with 12 service aces while junior outside hitter Celia Mbaya has 11 … New Orleans ranks second in the SLC in team kills with 707, third in assists (655) and fourth in points (862).

DEFENSIVE LEADERS: The Privateers have three players with 100 or more digs … Mbaya leads the back row with 152 digs … Eciroglu ranks second on the team with 125 digs while sophomore libero / defensive specialist Peyton Cole has 104 … Senior middle blocker / right side Akeir Scales leads the defense up front with 34 total blocks (28 block assists / six solo) while Roundtree is second with 31 total blocks (22 block assists / nine solo).

2024 RECAP: New Orleans finished the season 2-26 overall and 0-16 in conference play … The program's last trip to the SLC tournament came in 2023 as the seventh seed … The last winning season was in 2015 when the Privateers finished 19-16 overall.

HEAD COACH: Ashley Preston is in her fifth season at the helm since taking over in 2021 … Preston guided New Orleans to its first conference tournament victory in 2023 … She began her career at Division III Spelman College before moving onto Coppin State for three seasons and Cal State Fullerton for five.
   
LU vs. New Orleans: LU leads the all-time series 32-22 since the first meeting in 1980 … The Cardinals won the last two meetings in 2024 by way of four sets and a sweep ... LU has gone 5-5 against the Privateers in the last 10 meetings.
 
LEADING THE CONFERENCE: The Cardinals are leading the SLC in five of the seven main categories — points (1,038.5), assists (738), kills (770), blocks (173.5) and digs (1,127) … LU is tied for second in service aces (95) alongside SFA.

NATIONALLY RANKED: LU is ranked second in NCAA Division I in total digs behind Iona (1,144) … The Cardinals are one of five teams in the nation with over 1,000 digs joining Gardner-Webb, Towson and Western Michigan … LU is second in the nation in total blocks behind Utah Valley (180) … The Cardinals lead the country in solo blocks with 79 … LU is also ninth in assists and 13th in kills.

GO, GABBY, GO: Gabby Baker is back to leading the nation in digs with 343 … She is one of two freshmen in the top five nationally joining East Texas A&M's Jade Washington who is fifth … Baker continues to lead the conference in digs, averaging 4.9 per set … She is one of two players in the SLC with 300 or more digs alongside Washington with 305 ... Baker is 85 digs away from tying the 10th highest mark in a season in program history, which is 428 digs currently held by both Shanda Hart (2000) and Natalie Sarver (2002).

BRINGING THE BOOM: Daniella Udegbunam ranks third in the nation in total blocks with 85 … Udegbunam leads the nation in solo blocks with 25 … She continues to lead the SLC in total blocks and solo blocks.

MILESTONE MOMENT: LU had two setters eclipse the 1,000-assist mark this season … Jo Moffitt reached the milestone after a match vs. UTRGV … She now has 1,005 in her three-year career … Alexa Gonzalez joined the club on Sept. 7 as she has tallied 1,258 assists in two seasons.

THIS AND THAT: Gonzalez is ranked sixth in the conference in assists (401) and tied for fifth in service aces (20) … Maja Malinowska ranks third in the conference in kills (179) and points (212) … Kinley Elms is eighth in the conference in kills (134) … Elms was one kill shy of tying the third most kills in a three-set match in program history after she had 20 vs. Southeastern Louisiana on Oct. 2.