BEAUMONT, Texas — Lamar University travels to San Marcos on Saturday afternoon for its final tuneup match against Texas State.

The Cardinals battled Southland Conference foe Houston Christian to a 2-2 draw (23-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-20) in Beaumont last weekend.

HIGHLIGHTS VS. HCU:

• The Cardinals used all 18 available players during the match.
• Grace Hill led the offense with 12 kills and two digs.
• Rihanna Bryant added nine kills and two blocks.
• Maja Malinowska and Madelynn Coy each recorded eight kills, combining for four service aces and 10 digs.
• Katelyn Hughes dished out 26 assists while Alexa Gonzalez posted a double-double with 16 assists and 10 digs.
• Kiana Souza paced the defense with 11 digs and four assists.
• Nisaan Martinez and Kimaya Webb each contributed four blocks.
• As a team, Lamar finished with 57 kills, 10 blocks, 10 service aces and 61 digs.

RECAPPING LAST SEASON: 

• The Cardinals finished 17-15 overall and placed fifth in the Southland Conference with a 10-6 league record.
• Lamar's 17 victories were its most since 2008, and the Cardinals posted their first winning conference record since 2011.
• LU also advanced to the Southland Conference tournament in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2010 and 2011 while securing back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2008 and 2009.
• During the season, the Cardinals matched the fifth-longest winning streak in program history with 10 consecutive victories, equaling a mark last achieved in 1990.

NEARING A MILESTONE: Maja Malinowska is closing in on 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career points … She needs 243 kills and 133.5 points to reach those milestones … Alexa Gonzalez also is approaching a career milestone, needing 193 assists to reach 2,000 for her career.

OFFICIAL SEASON OPENER: Lamar opens the regular season at the ACU Invitational in Abilene, facing Cal State Bakersfield, host Abilene Christian and North Texas during the two-day tournament Friday and Saturday, Aug. 28-29.

NON-CONFERENCE MIDWEEK SLATE: The Cardinals will play a pair of Tuesday road matches against Houston on Sept. 8 and Prairie View A&M on Sept. 15 … The match against Houston marks Lamar's first against a Power Four opponent since facing Maryland of the Big Ten in 2023 … It also will be the Cardinals' first match against a Big 12 opponent since meeting Texas Tech in 2017.

HOME OPENER: The Cardinals return home Sept. 18-19 to host the Lamar Invitational … During the two-day tournament, Lamar will face North Dakota, UL Monroe and Sam Houston … Lamar is scheduled to play 11 home matches during the season, eight of which are conference games.

CONFERENCE OPENER: Lamar opens Southland Conference play at home against LSU New Orleans at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24.

RETURNING LETTERMAN: LU returns eight lettermen including six upperclassmen: Alexa Gonzalez, Jr., S | Addison Stanley, Jr., DS | Emily Moon, Sr., OH | Riley Johnson, RS-Jr., MB | Kinley Elms, So., OPP | Jo Moffitt, Sr., S | Maja Malinowska, Jr., OH | Gabby Baker, So., L/DS.

NEWCOMERS: The Cardinals added 10 newcomers to the roster, including four transfer portal additions and six true freshmen.

FROM THE PORTAL: Nisaan Martinez, Jr., MB/RS (Alabama A&M) | Grace Hill, Sr., OH/RS (Texas Southern) | Kiana Souza, Jr., DS/L (Weatherford College) | Kimaya Webb, Jr., MB (UT Permian Basin).

TRUE FRESHMEN: Katelyn Hughes, S | Rihanna Bryant, MB | Leila Ceaser, OH | Gabrielle St. Louis, OPP | Madelynn Coy, OH/OPP | Saida Maksoud, MB.
PRESEASON POLL: The Southland Conference announced its preseason poll for the 2026 season, with Lamar selected to finish fifth after receiving 87 votes … Stephen F. Austin, the defending conference tournament champions, topped the poll with 118 points and eight first-place votes.

1. Stephen F. Austin – 118 (8)
2. UT Rio Grande Valley – 113 (3)
3. A&M-Corpus Christi – 89 (1)
4. Southeastern Louisiana – 88
5. Lamar – 87
6. Incarnate Word – 86
7. Houston Christian – 57
8. East Texas A&M – 49
9. McNeese – 45
10. LSU New Orleans – 28
11. Nicholls – 17
12.  Northwestern State – 15

LU vs. Texas State: Both teams met last season for an exhibition match in Beaumont, with Texas State coming away with a sweep, 25-14, 25-23, 25-12. RECAPPING LAST SEASON: Texas State finished 17-12 overall and 11-5 in its final season in the Sun Belt Conference … The Bobcats earned the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament after finishing third in the West Division … Texas State closed the season winning nine of its final 10 matches … The Bobcats begin their first season in the Pac-12 Conference after competing in the Sun Belt Conference since 2013.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Brooke Bentke, Sr., OH (109 kills | 13 service aces | 25 total blocks) | Dylan Gilkey, Sr., S (319 assists) | India Bennet, Fifth Year, MB (Named first team All-Southland Conference in 2025 at Southeastern Louisiana | 138 total blocks | 233 kills).