BEAUMONT, Texas — Maja Malinowska is taking her talents to the world stage this week.

She is representing her native country of Poland at the U21 Federation of International Volleyball World Championship in Surabaya, Indonesia.

The tournament runs from Thursday, Aug. 7 to Sunday, Aug. 17.

"We are so happy for Maja and her family," said Lamar head coach Ariel Apolinario. "It's such a blessing to represent her home country at the world championship."

Malinowska, a sophomore outside hitter, earned second team All-Southland Conference honors last fall after leading the program with 335 kills and 379 points.

She also tallied 14 assists, 26 service aces, 288 digs, six blocked shots, 24 block assists and 30 total blocks.

Malinowska finished ranked sixth in the SLC in kills (3.61 per set) and points (4.08 per set).

She led the conference among freshmen in kills and points while ranking sixth nationally in kills.

Malinowska's 33 kills in a five-set match against Sam Houston State back on Sept. 20 rank as the second-most kills in a five-set match in program history behind Natalie Sarver's 34 kills recorded in 2002.

Malinowska also became the first player to earn all-conference nods since Tomar Thomas was named honorable mention in 2017.

She also earned Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors twice in the month of September while she was named Most Valuable Player at the Bearkat Classic and Bluff City Showdown.

She was a member of the U20 Polish national team tryout program prior to her time with the Cardinals.

Malinowska is a two-time Polish Junior National Champion after claiming back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024. She was a member of four top five junior national teams from 2018-2022.

"Being selected to represent your home country is truly an honor," Apolinario added. "Putting on your country's shirt is the greatest honor an athlete can have."

The tournament features 24 teams that are split into four pools of six.

Poland is competing in Pool C alongside Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Algeria and the Czech Republic.

This is Poland's 10th appearance at the tournament. The country's best finish came in 2003 when it placed third.

China is the defending U21 champion after winning the title in 2023 over Italy.

Poland takes on Egypt in the first game of the preliminary round Thursday.