BEAUMONT, Texas — With just two weeks remaining in the Southland Conference regular season, the volleyball playoff picture remains crowded.

Two teams are tied for second place, while two-way ties exist for sixth and ninth. The top three teams hold a four-match lead over the team in fifth.

Lamar is tied with McNeese for sixth place and owns a one-match lead over Northwestern State, which sits ninth in the standings.

The Cardinals close out the 2026 regular season home schedule this week, hosting Nicholls on Thursday before welcoming rival McNeese on Saturday.
REACHING A MILESTONE: The Cardinals have celebrated several career milestones this season.

• Maja Malinowska surpassed both 1,000 career points and 1,000 career kills, becoming the first Cardinal to reach the 1,000-kill mark since Chelsea Grant totaled 1,100 kills from 2013-16 … Malinowska enters the week with 1,216.5 career points and 1,067 kills.
• Alexa Gonzalez became the first Cardinal since Haley Morton (2015-17) to reach 2,000 career assists … Gonzalez enters the week with 2,262 career assists.

Two additional career milestones could be reached before the end of the season.

• Malinowska is 111 digs shy of 1,000 for her career. She enters the week with 889 career digs.
• Gabby Baker is seven digs away from the 1,000-dig milestone and enters the week with 993 career digs.
• Megan Schwartz is the last Cardinal to record 1,000 career digs, totaling 1,283 from 2010-14.

OFFENSIVE CATALYSTS:

• Malinowska and Nisaan Martinez have fueled the Lamar offense all season, combining for 588 of the Cardinals' 1,090 kills.
• Malinowska leads the team with 310 kills, 350 points, 3.65 kills per set and 4.12 points per set.
• She also ranks second in service aces (21) and digs (233), while sitting third with 34 total blocks.
• Malinowska has recorded 12 double-doubles this season and 43 in her career.
• Martinez is second on the team with 278 kills, 312 points, 3.2 kills per set and 3.67 points per set.
• She also ranks second on the squad with 61 total blocks.
• Martinez owns the highest hitting percentage on the team among players who have appeared in at least 20 matches, posting a .271 mark for the season.

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 during the week.

SENIOR DAY: The Cardinals will honor four seniors this week: Emily Moon, Jo Moffitt, Riley Johnson and Grace Hill.

• Moon appeared in 50 matches, making 26 starts from 2023-26, and recorded 178 career kills.
• Moffitt played in 70 matches with 28 starts from 2023-26, totaling 1,034 career assists and 350 career digs.
• Johnson began her collegiate career at UC Riverside in 2023 before redshirting at Arkansas-Pine Bluff in 2024 … In two seasons at Lamar, she has appeared in 34 matches with 22 starts, recording 30 kills, 55 total blocks and 27 digs.
• Hill spent three seasons at Texas Southern from 2023-25, compiling 643 kills and 744 points … In her lone season at Lamar, she has appeared in 24 matches with 13 starts, posting 189 kills, 77 digs and 20 total blocks … Hill enters the week with 832 career kills and 948.5 career points.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Cardinals have compiled an 19-12 record at home over the past three seasons … Lamar narrowly missed posting three consecutive seasons at .500 or better at home for the first time since 2008-10, when the program went 20-6 during that span … The Cardinals also recorded back-to-back winning home seasons in 2024 and 2025, marking the first time the program accomplished the feat since 2014-15.

PLAYOFFS: The Cardinals are seeking their third consecutive berth in the Southland Conference tournament, a feat the program has not accomplished since making three straight appearances from 2009-11 … Lamar is also looking for its first conference tournament victory since Nov. 19, 2011, when the Cardinals defeated Texas State in five sets in the opening round.

TEAM MILESTONE: 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.

SETTING THINGS UP:

• The Cardinals have utilized a two-setter system throughout the season, with Gonzalez and Katelyn Hughes combining for 863 of Lamar's 1,024 assists.
• Gonzalez leads the team with 455 assists, 5.23 assists per set and 23 service aces.
• Gonzalez has posted 22 career double-doubles, including two this season.
• Hughes ranks second with 408 assists (4.92 assists per set) and is tied for second on the team with 21 service aces.
• Hughes has posted six double-doubles this season.
• Gonzalez ranks third on the squad with 158 digs, while Hughes is fourth with 150.

BLOCKING THE OPPOSITION: Saida Maksoud anchors Lamar's defense at the net, leading the team with 68 total blocks, including 60 block assists and eight solo blocks … Maksoud and Martinez have combined for 129 of the Cardinals' 166.5 total blocks this season.

BEST IN THE CONFERENCE:

• Malinowska, third in kills per set (3.65)
• Malinowska, fifth in kills (310)
• Malinowska, fifth in points (350)
• Baker, fifth in digs per set (4.60)
• Martinez, seventh in kills (278)
• Gonzalez, eighth in service aces (23)
• Baker, seventh in total digs (391)
• Martinez, eighth in points (312)
• Malinowska, tied for ninth in service aces (21)
• Hughes, tied for ninth in service aces (21)
• Gonzalez, 10th in assists (455)
• Maksoud, 10th in total blocks (68)

As a team, the Cardinals rank among the Southland Conference leaders in several statistical categories, sitting ninth in points (1,380.5), ninth in assists (1,024), 10th in kills (1,090), seventh in blocks (166.5), eighth in service aces (124) and 10th in digs (1,314).
 
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE STANDINGS

1. Southeastern 15-12 (12-2)
2. Stephen F. Austin 17-9 (11-2)
    Incarnate Word 13-9 (11-2)
4. UT Rio Grande Valley 14-10 (10-3)
5. A&M-Corpus Christi 9-15 (7-6)
6. McNeese 10-14 (6-7)
    Lamar 9-17 (6-7)
8. Northwestern State 13-15 (5-8)
9. East Texas A&M 10-16 (4-9)
    Houston Christian 6-19 (4-9)
11. Nicholls 9-17 (2-11)
12. LSU New Orleans 3-24 (1-13) 

   
CATCHING UP: The Colonels enter the week on an eight-match losing streak, with four losses coming in straight sets and four in four-set matches during that stretch … Nicholls opened the season with a 7-6 record in nonconference play before entering Southland Conference competition.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Kera Arrington, Jr., OH (216 kills) | Isabella Padilla, Jr., S (685 assists | 24 service aces) | Maya Schirmer, Jr., MB (92 total blocks | 137 kills) | Natalia Navarro, Fr., L/DS (430 digs).
Lamar vs. Nicholls: The Cardinals hold a 38-15 advantage in the all-time series against Nicholls, which dates back to 1979, and have won eight of the last nine meetings since 2023 … Nicholls claimed the first matchup this season in straight sets on Oct. 1, snapping a stretch of seven consecutive Lamar victories and recording its first win over the Cardinals since Nov. 5, 2022.  
CATCHING UP: McNeese had a two-match winning streak after recording a five-set upset of Southeastern and a sweep of LSU New Orleans before dropping a five-set match to SFA … The Cowgirls have gone 5-3 in their last eight.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Gabbie Maldonado, Jr., OPP (265 kills) | Megan Grose, Sr., S (432 assists | 21 service aces) | Sophia Tocmo, Fr., L/DS (438 digs) | Ava Henry, So., MB/OH (61 total blocks).
Lamar vs. McNeese: This will be the 87th meeting between the two programs, with Lamar holding a 49-37 advantage in the all-time series dating back to 1979 … McNeese won the first meeting this season, sweeping the Cardinals on Oct. 3.