BEAUMONT, Texas — Lamar volleyball is making its 19th trip to the Southland Conference tournament.

On Friday afternoon, fifth seeded LU takes on fourth seeded Incarnate Word in the opening round at 4 p.m. at The Field House in Commerce.
 
POSTSEASON HISTORY: This is the 29th trip to the conference tournament all-time for the Cardinals … LU made its first trip to a conference tourney in 1987 as a member of the former American South … The Cardinals then made six trips to the Sun Belt tournament, winning the tournament title in 1993 … LU's first trip to the Southland Conference tourney was in 1982 … The Cardinals won the Southland Conference tournament title in 1983, 1984 and 2008 … The last time LU won a quarterfinal match was in 2010 when it defeated Texas State in five sets.

ON THE NATIONAL STAGE: LU has made four trips to the NCAA tournament, the last coming in 2008 … LU played the Texas Longhorns on three occasions and the University of Arizona once.

BACK-TO-BACK: This marks the first time the Cardinals make back-to-back trips to the Southland Conference tournament since 2010 and 2011 … LU recorded back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2008 and 2009 … This also marks the first time LU records back-to-back winning seasons at home with records of .500 or better since 2018 and 2019.

TURNING THINGS AROUND: The Cardinals had won a total of five conference games from 2022-2023 … LU climbed up to finish seventh in the conference in 2024 and now fifth in 2025.

THAT WINNING FEELING: LU's 10-game winning streak matched the fifth longest streak in program history that was also recorded in 1979, 1983 and 1990 … From 2009-2024, the Cardinals had never posted a winning streak of five or more games … LU's 17 overall wins are the most since 2008 … LU also won five straight games at home for the first time since 2015.

CHASING HISTORY: Gabby Baker is 13 digs away from tying the single season program record for digs, which is 602 set in 2007 by Andrea Hamilton …  Baker continues to lead the Southland Conference in digs (589) while she ranks third in digs per set (4.99) … Baker ranks second in all of Division I in digs while she is 15th in digs per set … Baker leads all freshmen in Division I in digs.

OFFENSIVE LEADER: Maja Malinowska is the Southland Conference leader in kills (415) and points (479) … Malinowska is also second in points per set (4.61), second in kills per set (3.99), seventh in service aces (36) and eighth in digs (356) … Malinowska is 23rd in Division I in points … She has recorded 18 double doubles this season … Malinowska has tallied 10 or more kills in 23 matches … She has posted five matches with 20 or more kills … In her two-year career, she has recorded 750 kills, 644 digs and 858 points.

SETTING IT UP: Alexa Gonzalez is 73 assists from reaching 1,000 for the season … An LU setter hasn't posted 1,000 or more assists in a season since London Hatch in 2022 (1,140 assists) … Gonzalez already reached a milestone of 1,000 career assists this season as she has 1,784 … She ranks third in the Southland in assists (927), third in service aces (44) and sixth in assists per set (7.86) … She has posted 11 double doubles this season … Gonzalez has recorded 20 or more assists in 23 matches … She has tallied 30 or more assists in 13 matches.

BRINGING THE BOOM: Daniella Udegbunam ranks first in the Southland in solo blocks (38), second in total blocks (124) and third in block assists (86) … She is tied for second in Division I in solo blocks … An LU player hasn't posted 120 or more total blocks since Chelsea Grant in 2015 (140 total blocks).

TAISHA TOUGH: Taisha Rhone ranks third in the Southland in kills per set (3.04), fifth in kills (289) and fifth in points (348.5) … Rhone is also third on the team with 22 service aces … In her four-year career, she has tallied 593 kills, 549 digs and 730.5 points.

LEADING THE CONFERENCE: The Cardinals lead the Southland in points (1,848.5), assists (1,325), blocks (255.5), service aces (193) and digs (1,981) … LU ranks second in kills (1,400) … The Cardinals rank fourth in Division I in digs, seventh in total attacks (4,318) and 16th in digs per set (16.79).

THIS AND THAT: Kinley Elms is 10th in the Southland in kills (185) and points (205.5).
     
LU vs. UIW: UIW is 13-4 all-time vs. LU since 2013 … Both teams met once this season with LU coming out on top in four sets back on Oct. 16 in Beaumont … LU snapped an eight-game losing skid vs. UIW … The last time LU defeated UIW was in 2018.
   
FINISHING STRONG: UIW closed out the regular season winning six of its last seven matches … UIW is riding a three-game winning streak after beating A&M-Corpus Christi once in five sets and sweeping Houston Christian twice … UIW has made the Southland Conference tournament five consecutive times since 2021.

OFFENSIVE LEADERS: Senior outside hitter / opposite Kyla Malone leads the team with 311 kills and 349.5 points … Sophomore setter Calissa Allison has a team high 827 assists and 38 service aces.

DEFENSIVE LEADERS: Freshman libero Ashton Rogers leads the team with 423 digs … Senior middle blocker Kade Thomas has a team high 77 total blocks (53 block assists and 24 solo blocks).