HAMMOND, La. — Lamar University locked up the No. 7 seed for next week's Southland Conference tournament after falling to Southeastern Louisiana, 25-19, 26-24, 25-17, Saturday afternoon at the University Center.
With the victory, the Lions secured the Southland Conference regular-season championship and the tournament's No. 1 seed, holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over Incarnate Word.
The Cardinals will open tournament play against second-seeded UIW at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, in Corpus Christi.
The opening set featured 10 ties.
Lamar fell behind 4-2 before scoring three unanswered points to take a 5-4 lead behind a kill and service ace from
Saida Maksoud.
Southeastern Louisiana responded with a 4-0 run to regain the advantage, but the Cardinals answered with three straight points to tie the score at 8-8.
Rihanna Bryant recorded a kill during the stretch, while
Alexa Gonzalez added a service ace.
After the Lions moved back in front, Lamar used a 3-0 spurt to build an 11-9 lead with kills from
Nisaan Martinez and Bryant.
Southeastern Louisiana answered by outscoring the Cardinals 4-1 to reclaim a one-point edge, and the teams traded points through three more ties.
The Lions eventually pulled away with a 5-1 run for a 21-17 advantage before closing the set on a 4-1 stretch.
Lamar raced out to a 5-2 lead in the second set before Southeastern Louisiana answered with a 6-1 run to move in front, 10-7.
The Cardinals responded with four consecutive points to reclaim a 12-11 advantage, using three key blocks and a kill from
Grace Hill.
The teams traded points through three more ties before the Lions used a 3-0 spurt to take a two-point lead.
Lamar answered with four straight points to go back in front, 18-16, behind two kills from Martinez, one from
Maja Malinowska and another service ace from Gonzalez.
The Cardinals later extended their lead to four with three unanswered points.
Following a kill by Martinez that brought Lamar within one point of evening the match, Southeastern Louisiana closed the set on a 6-0 run, erasing a four-point deficit to secure the set and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set featured eight ties before Southeastern Louisiana began to pull away with a 4-0 run that opened a five-point advantage.
The Lions never relinquished control from that point, maintaining the lead throughout the remainder of the set and completing the sweep with an eight-point victory.
MATCH NOTES
- Martinez led Lamar with 12 kills while adding two digs, two block assists and an assist.
- Hill contributed seven kills and two total blocks, while Bryant recorded five kills and a block assist.
- Gonzalez dished out a season-high 28 assists to go along with four digs, two service aces and two block assists.
- Gabby Baker anchored the back row with a match-high 20 digs and added four assists.
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