BEAUMONT, Texas — It was an action-packed day of volleyball at the McDonald Gym on Friday during Day 1 of the Lamar Invitational.

Lamar University did not bend or break as it prevailed in both of its matches.

LU took down Cal State Fullerton in four sets, 25-13, 22-25, 25-21, 25-21, to start the afternoon.

In the nightcap match, the Cardinals triumphed over Texas Southern in a five-set battle, 25-21, 18-25, 15-25, 25-19, 15-11.

LU erased a five-game skid while it improved to 3-0 at home.

"We definitely had a great day," said head coach Ariel Apolinario. "Regardless of how clean or how ugly it was at times, we found a way to win.

"We won the day, more than anything else. We kept at it. We could have made a choice to stop playing altogether but we didn't."

MATCH 1: LU vs. Cal State Fullerton

The lead changed hands four times in the opening set before the Cardinals went off on a 6-0 run to take a 12-7 lead.

LU used a clutch solo block and a kill from Daniella Udegbunam to put together a 4-0 run to extend the lead to eight points.

The Cardinals kept their foot on the accelerator to lead by 12 after two kills from Lyric Jordan and Maja Malinowska and a service ace by Keeley Nellis.

Malinowska notched the set point with a kill to give the Cardinals the win.

LU led 8-4 early in the second set before the Titans tied up the score with a 4-0 run. The Titans then scored three unanswered points to take a two-point lead.

The Cardinals answered back with a 3-0 run of their own that featured two kills from Malinowska and Taisha Rhone and a service ace by Riley Johnson.

As the lead changed six times, the Titans went on a late 5-0 run to pull away and tie up the match.

LU found itself down early in the third set after giving up a 6-0 run.

The Cardinals had trailed by five before surmounting a comeback that began in the middle of the set with a kill by Jordan and a service ace from Jo Moffitt.

LU used a 3-0 run to extend its lead to five. The Cardinals were able to hold on as Udegbunam tallied a kill to notch the set point.

The fourth set began with eight lead changes until the Cardinals went on a 4-0 run that was highlighted by a kill from Rhone.

Cal State Fullerton chiseled down the deficit to one point, but the Cardinals pulled away late to come out on top.

MATCH NOTES

• Malinowska led the offense with 15 kills while she had one service ace, two blocks and nine digs.
• Rhone added with 12 kills and two blocks.
• Kinley Elms had 10 kills.
• The Cardinals dominated at the net with 22 total blocks.
• Udegbunam finished with eight total blocks and seven kills.
• Moffitt tallied 29 assists, three service aces and five digs.
• Alexa Gonzalez helped the offense with 18 assists while she had eight digs.
• Gabby Baker led the back row with 17 digs.
• This was LU's first win over Cal State Fullerton since Oct. 12, 1985. Ironically, the Cardinals won 42 years ago in four sets.

MATCH 2: LU vs. Texas Southern

The Cardinals were in a hole to start the first set, trailing by six points.

Little by little, LU began inching its way back into the fight as it used a 5-0 run to tie up the score.

Malinowska had two kills during the run.

The lead changed five times until the Cardinals used a 4-0 run to take a 21-18 lead.

LU closed things out with a 3-0 run as Malinowska notched the set point with a kill.

It was a much different story in the second set.

The Cardinals led early on after scoring the first point and after that Texas Southern scored five unanswered points to take the lead.

Texas Southern never trailed from that point on as it evened up the match.

The Tigers carried over their momentum into the third set, leading 9-1 early on after going on a 6-0 run.

The lead for Texas Southern grew to nine as it took a 2-1 advantage.

LU trailed until the middle of the fourth set when it used a 4-0 run to flip the script and take an 18-15 lead.

Elms tallied the final two kills of the set to help her team survive and move on to a fifth set.

The Cardinals scored four unanswered points early in the fifth set to take the lead. LU kept up its four-point lead after a kill from Emily Moon and a service ace by Gonzalez.

After some big blocks by Udegbunam, the Cardinals got a kill from Jordan to secure the match.

MATCH NOTES

• Malinowska had 15 kills and 15 digs to along with three total blocks.
• Elms added with 12 kills and three blocks.
• Jordan finished with 10 kills, six total blocks and four digs.
• Udegbunam had 14 total blocks, which included nine block assists.
• Udegbunam's 14 total blocks are the second highest ever recorded in a five-set match in program history. She was three shy of tying the program record of 17 set by Chelsea Grant in 2014.
• The Cardinals tallied 34 total blocks.
• Gonzalez led the way with 27 assists, two service aces and six digs.
• Moffitt had 17 assists and five digs.
• Baker finished with 27 digs and one assist.
• The Cardinals have never lost to Texas Southern at home, improving to 7-0 all-time. Since 1990, LU is 15-1 vs. the Tigers.
• LU improved to 31-3 vs. Southwestern Athletic Conference schools since 2010.

UP NEXT

The Cardinals take on Abilene Christian at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20 on Day 2 of the Lamar Invitational.