BEAUMONT, Texas — Lamar University had a defining week, recording back-to-back Southland Conference victories to move into a tie for fifth place.

The Cardinals hold a one-match lead over seventh-place Northwestern State and McNeese with six matches remaining in the regular season.

Lamar faces a pair of tough tests this week against Stephen F. Austin, which is tied for second place.

The Cardinals are looking to snap a 15-year winless streak against the Ladyjacks.
OFFENSIVE CATALYST: Maja Malinowska has reached a pair of career milestones this season, surpassing both 1,000 points and 1,000 kills … She enters the week with 1,171.5 career points and 1,025 kills … Chelsea Grant was the last Cardinal to reach the 1,000-kill mark, finishing her career with 1,100 kills from 2013-16 … Malinowska is also closing in on 1,000 career digs, needing 133 to reach the milestone … Malinowska ranks second on the team with 211 digs … She ranks fifth in the Southland Conference with 268 kills and 305 points … Malinowska is third in the conference with 3.57 kills per set, second with 4.07 points per set and ninth with 19 service aces … She has recorded 11 double-doubles this season and 42 in her career.

GETTING RECOGNIZED: Malinowska earned her fifth career Southland Conference Player of the Week honor after being named the league's Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 28 ... She recorded 41 kills, 17 digs, two assists and two service aces across two matches while averaging 5.1 kills per set.

SETTING THINGS UP: Alexa Gonzalez joined the 2,000-assist club this season becoming the first Cardinal to reach the milestone since Haley Morton, who finished with 2,112 assists from 2015-17 … Gonzalez currently has 2,211 career assists … She leads the team with 404 assists and 21 service aces … Gonzalez ranks ninth in the conference in service aces and assists while she is 10th in assists per set with 5.25 … Gonzalez has posted 22 career double-doubles, including two this season.

PINPOINT SERVICE: Katelyn Hughes is tied for eighth in the conference with 20 service aces while Madelynn Coy is 10th with 18 … Hughes also ranks second on the team with 358 assists and third with 139 digs.

GO, GABBY, GO: Gabby Baker ranks seventh in the Southland Conference with 351 digs and fifth in digs per set with 4.68 ... Baker is 47 digs shy of reaching 1,000 for her career ... Megan Schwartz is the last Cardinal to record 1,000 career digs, totaling 1,283 from 2010-14.

RANKING IN THE TOP 10: The Cardinals rank among the Southland Conference's top 10 in six statistical categories, including points (1,218.5, eighth), assists (900, eighth), kills (956, ninth), total blocks (149.5, sixth), service aces (113, seventh) and digs (1,175, eighth).

BEST IN BELIZE: Nisaan Martinez ranks seventh in the Southland with 248 kills and 277.5 points … Martinez and Malinowska have accounted for 516 of Lamar's 956 total kills … Martinez also ranks second on the team with 53 total blocks.

BLOCKING THE OPPOSITION: Saida Maksoud leads the team with 61 total blocks and is 10th in the league ... She is 10th in the league with 53 block assists … The Cardinals rank fifth in the league with 235 block assists and ninth with 32 solo blocks.

GOING THE DISTANCE: Head coach Ariel Apolinario is 8-6 in five-set matches during his three-year career and 13-6 all-time in four-set matches.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Cardinals are looking to secure three consecutive winning seasons at home for the first time since 2008-10 … Lamar has already posted back-to-back winning home campaigns for the first time since 2014-15, compiling a 15-6 record during that span.

CONFERENCE OPENER: Lamar's sweep of LSU New Orleans marked the program's first conference-opening victory since Sept. 25, 2018, when the Cardinals defeated Incarnate Word in four sets at home.
 
1. Southeastern 12-11 (9-1)
     UT Rio Grande Valley 13-8 (9-1)
3. Stephen F. Austin 14-9 (8-2)
     Incarnate Word 10-9 (8-2)
5. Lamar 8-15 (5-5)
     A&M-Corpus Christi 7-14 (5-5)
7. Northwestern State 12-13 (4-6)
     McNeese 8-13 (4-6)
9. East Texas A&M 9-14 (3-7)
     Houston Christian 5-17 (3-7)
11. Nicholls 9-14 (2-8)
12. LSU New Orleans 2-21 (0-10)
CATCHING UP: The Ladyjacks have won four of their last five matches and enter the week riding a three-match winning streak … During that stretch, Stephen F. Austin posted a four-set victory over A&M-Corpus Christi and recorded sweeps of East Texas A&M and Northwestern State.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Katherine Holtman, Jr., OPP (235 kills) | Avery Koonsen, Fr., OH (232 kills | 246 digs | 26 service aces) | Madi Zorn, Gr., S (464 assists) | Aniston Collins, Fr., S (382 assists) | Kyanna Creecy, Sr., MB (90 total blocks) | Caroline Kahle, Sr., OH (297 digs).
Lamar vs. Stephen F. Austin:  Stephen F. Austin holds a 44-30 advantage in the all-time series against Lamar, which dates to the teams' first meeting in 1976 … The Ladyjacks have won the past 22 meetings, with the Cardinals' last victory coming in four sets on Nov. 12, 2011, in Beaumont … Lamar has not taken a set from SFA since Oct. 16, 2021, and its last win in Nacogdoches came on Oct. 25, 2008.