BEAUMONT, Texas — As the top five teams in the Southland Conference continue to win, the Lamar University volleyball team remains in a two-way for third place alongside Incarnate Word.

The Cardinals are one game out of second and two games out of first place with five games remaining in the regular season.

Riding an eight-game winning streak, LU takes on Nicholls State on Saturday for its second to last home match.
 
CATCHING UP: It's been 20 days since Nicholls dropped in four sets to LU on Oct. 11 in Thibodaux, La. …  The Colonels have dropped 12 of their last 13 matches … Nine of the 13 matches were dropped in straight sets … Nicholls is on a three-game losing skid after being swept by Stephen F. Austin recently … The Colonels began the season 10-1 with nine of their wins coming against Southwestern Athletic Conference teams.

OFFENSIVE LEADERS: Graduate student and outside hitter Tamara Chavez ranks fourth in the Southland Conference with 305 kills and 332 points … Freshman middle blocker Harper Holden is second on the team with 101 kills … Junior setter Isabella Padilla has a team high 651 assists while sophomore setter Ava-Claire Calais leads the team with 22 service aces.

DEFENSIVE LEADERS: The Colonels have five players with 100 or more digs … Freshman libero / defensive specialist Karina Smith leads the way with 218 digs … Holden leads the defense with 59 total blocks (48 block assists, 11 solo).  

• SFA (15-7, 10-1)
• UTRGV (15-7, 10-1)
• Southeastern Louisiana (18-6, 10-2)
• Lamar (15-11, 8-3)
• UIW (12-11, 8-3)
• HCU (11-13, 6-5)
• A&M-Corpus Christi (9-14, 5-6)
• East Texas A&M (7-15, 5-6)
• McNeese (6-17, 2-9)
• New Orleans (7-18, 2-10)
• Nicholls (11-13, 1-10)
• Northwestern State (1-24, 0-11)

 
Nicholls vs. Lamar: The Cardinals are 36-14 all-time vs. Nicholls since 1979 … LU has won its last six matches against the Colonels … LU is 18-6 vs. Nicholls in Beaumont.
 
LEADING THE CONFERENCE: LU leads the Southland Conference in six of the seven categories — points (1,607.5), assists (1,144), kills (1,212), blocks (230.5), service aces (165) and digs (1,687).

NATIONALLY RANKED: The Cardinals rank third in Division I in both digs and attacks (3,682), seventh in total blocks, 10th in assists, 12th in kills and tied for 18th in service aces.

GO, GABBY, GO: Gabby Baker is ranked second in Division I with 514 digs … The leader is Gardner-Webb's Nalani McBride with 547 digs … Baker continues to lead the Southland Conference in digs while she ranks second in digs per set (5.09) … Baker is 20 digs away from tying the second most digs tallied in a season in program history (534 digs | Miriam Erickson, 1993) … Dating back to 2012, Baker becomes the first Cardinal to tally 500 or more digs in a season … The last time a Cardinal posted 500 or more digs in a season was in 2007 (Andrea Hamilton | 602 digs).

OFFENSIVE LEADER: Maja Malinowska leads the conference with 329 kills and 384 points … Malinowska ranks second in the conference in points per set (4.41) … She also ranks sixth in the conference in service aces (31) and seventh in digs (296) … Malinowska has tallied 14 double-doubles this season.

BRINGING THE BOOM: Daniella Udegbunam ranks second in the conference in total blocks (116) … She leads the conference in solo blocks (36) while she is second in block assists (80) … Udegbunam is tied for eighth in Division I in total blocks while she ranks second in solo blocks … Udegbunam becomes the first Cardinal to tally 100 or more total blocks in a season since 2022 (Tytiana Johnson, 103 total blocks | Wiktoria Warpechowska, 100 total blocks).

THIS AND THAT: Alexa Gonzalez ranks third in the conference in assists (764) while she's tied for third in service aces (35) … Gonzalez has tallied nine double-doubles this season … Lyric Jordan has officially reached 800 career kills (She has 801 career kills in three seasons) … Taisha Rhone is fifth in the conference in kills (258) and points (308) … Kinley Elms is ninth in the conference in kills (180) and points (200).

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: In 16 seasons (2009-2024), the Cardinals had never posted a winning streak of more than five games … LU recently surpassed the seven-game winning streak set in 2008 … The longest winning streak in program history was recorded in 1977 (16 games).

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) … Prior to 2018 and 2019, LU had not posted back-to-back seasons of .500 or better at home since 2014 (5-3) and 2015 (10-4) … LU has currently won four straight matches at home for the first time since 2015 … The Cardinals have gone 14-5 at home the last two seasons.

FOUR SETS: The Cardinals are 7-2 in four set matches … Five of the last eight matches have been won 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 1,008 career assists in her three-year career while Gonzalez now has 1,621 in her two-year career.