BEAUMONT, Texas — This weekend the Lamar University volleyball team competes in the two-day Carrie Yerty Classic Friday-Saturday in Memphis, Tenn.

The Cardinals take on Chattanooga and Memphis on the first day of competition before closing out the tournament against the University of Tennessee at Martin.

LU heads into the weekend 4-4. Chattanooga sports a 2-4 record after dropping its last three matches, going 0-3 at its own Chattanooga Classic.

The Mocs recorded wins over Norfolk State and UC Riverside at a season-opening tournament in Orlando, Fla.

Senior outside hitter Sydney Jackwin leads the offense with 63 kills and 10 service aces while sophomore outside hitter Gracie Rose ranks second with 51 kills.

Junior setter Ashley Reynolds has tallied a team-high 126 assists.

At the net, sophomore middle blocker Kynli Kirkendoll leads the way with 18 total blocks, 13 block assists and five solo blocks.

Junior defensive specialist / libero Caiti Barthel has 76 digs to lead the back row while Jackwin has 69.

Chattanooga returns seven upperclassmen while it has nine underclassmen.

The Mocs wrapped up the 2024 season with a 17-15 overall record and 7-9 mark in the Southern Conference.

Chattanooga has made four straight appearances at the conference tournament since 2021.

Julie Torbett Thomas is in her 32nd year as a head coach, sporting 523 career wins. She began her career at UNC Asheville in 1994 where she spent 17 years.

She became the head coach at Chattanooga in 2022.
Memphis is 4-2 overall and 3-0 at home.

The Tigers are hosting their second tournament of the season. They went 3-0 at the Rumble at the Roane, defeating USC Upstate, Northwestern State and Tennessee State.

At the Denver Classic, Memphis suffered its first two losses to Denver and Idaho State.

The Tigers ended the competition with a sweep of Texas Southern last Saturday.

Junior outside hitter / right side Amanda Hardt leads the offense with 85 kills and 10 service aces.

Freshman setter Maddy Bach has helped the offense with 179 assists.

Junior middle blocker Janyah Henderson has tallied a team-high 31 total blocks, 24 block assists and seven solo blocks.

Abigail Schlueter, a junior defensive specialist / libero, has a team-best 60 digs while freshman outside hitter Zaniah Hoskins has 48.

The roster boasts eight upperclassmen and eight underclassmen.

The Tigers went 12-16 overall and 6-10 in American Conference play last season. The programs last winning season came in 2022.

Head coach Cheri Lindsay is in her first season at the helm after spending the previous two seasons at Prairie View A&M.
UT Martin has not won a single set as it is off to an 0-5 start.

Senior outside hitter Kayla Bryant and sophomore outside hitter Kylie Surratt lead the offense with 37 and 31 kills, respectively.

Freshman setter Ava Peters has a team-high 78 assists.

Defensively, redshirt freshman defensive specialist / libero Abby Freund leads the way with 51 digs while freshman middle blocker Carly Mueller has 16 total blocks.

UT Martin's roster is rather young consisting of three upperclassmen and 12 underclassmen.

The program finished 5-22 overall last season and 3-15 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Three years ago, the Skyhawks finished 23-12 and 15-3 in conference play, landing in the OVC semifinals. UT Martin also competed in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship that season.

Head coach Jaclynn Wilson is in her 11th season at UT Martin since joining the program in 2015.
 
LU vs. Chattanooga: Both teams have met three times since 2006 … The last meeting came in 2021 … Chattanooga is 2-1 against LU … The Cardinals notched a four-set win in Beaumont in 2007.

LU vs. Memphis: Both teams last met in 2024 … The Cardinals came out victorious with a sweep.

LU vs. UT Martin: LU last played UT Martin in 2008 … The Cardinals won in four sets at a tournament in Fayateville, Ark.

LU vs. Tennessee: The Cardinals are 7-5 against schools from the state of Tennessee.
 
Maja Malinowska eclipsed the 100-mark for kills this season. She leads the conference with 113 kills.

In 32 sets played, Malinowska has seven service aces, seven solo blocks and seven block assists to go along with her 105 digs.

She also leads the Southland with 130.5 total points. She entered the week ranked 15th in the nation in points scored.

Malinowska entered the week tied for 21st in the nation in total kills. She currently has 448 career kills, 52 away from reaching 500.

Alexa Gonzalez leads the conference with 181 assists while she is fourth in service aces with 11.

Gabby Baker has become one of the top liberos in the Southland, leading the league with 147 digs.

Baker entered the week as one of two freshmen to be ranked in the top 15 nationally in digs. She was ranked 11th overall.

Overall, the Cardinals lead the Southland in points (478), assists (345), kills (358), digs (540) and total blocks (72).

Looking at the national statistical rankings, LU entered the week ninth in digs per set, third in team digs, tied for 12th in team total blocks and tied for 14th in team assists.
Daniella Udegbunam is second in the Southland Conference in total blocks with 34. She also has 25 block assists and nine solo blocks.

She had seven total blocks in the season-opening match against Northern Illinois. She matched her season-high with seven block assists against Sam Houston.