ABILENE, Texas — Lamar University opened the ACU Invitational with a pair of losses Friday, falling to Cal State Bakersfield and host Abilene Christian at Moody Coliseum.
GAME 1: LU vs. CSU Bakersfield (L, 25-27, 19-25, 21-25)
The opening set was tightly contested, featuring 11 ties.
The Cardinals trailed by as many as four points before using a 3-0 run to even the score at 11-11.
CSU Bakersfield responded by building a two-point lead, but Lamar answered with consecutive kills from
Grace Hill and
Maja Malinowska to tie the score once again.
The teams continued to trade points before Malinowska delivered a kill to give the Cardinals set point.
The Roadrunners answered by tying the score twice more, then used a 2-0 run to close out the opener.
CSU Bakersfield controlled the second set from the start, never trailing while building an eight-point advantage midway through the frame.
Lamar trimmed the deficit to four late in the set with a pair of 3-0 runs highlighted by two block assists and a kill from
Nisaan Martinez.
The Roadrunners responded with two consecutive points to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Lamar raced out to a five-point lead in the third set following a kill by Malinowska.
CSU Bakersfield seized the momentum with a 6-1 run to tie the score at 13-13.
Madelynn Coy answered with a kill to put the Cardinals back in front, but the Roadrunners responded with three straight points to regain the lead.
CSU Bakersfield later extended its advantage to four with a 4-1 run before Lamar answered with a 4-0 surge, its second of the set and longest run of the match, to tie the score at 21-21.
The Roadrunners closed the match with four consecutive points to complete the sweep.
MATCH NOTES
- Malinowska led all players with 13 kills and recorded her 32nd career double-double after adding 11 digs.
- Hill finished with nine kills, six digs and one block assist.
- Martinez added five kills and three block assists while Kinley Elms also contributed five kills.
- Alexa Gonzalez led the Cardinals with 18 assists and four digs while Katelyn Hughes recorded 15 assists, two service aces and three digs.
- Madelynn Coy paced the defense with six digs while Gabby Baker and Kiana Souza added five digs apiece.
- Saida Maksoud chipped in three kills and three block assists.
- The match marked the third meeting between the two programs since 2008. CSU Bakersfield improved to 3-0 in the all-time series after winning the previous meeting in 2009.
GAME 2: LU vs. Abilene Christian (L, 15-25, 21-25, 27-25, 7-25)
The Wildcats jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the opening set behind an 8-0 run.
Abilene Christian extended its advantage to 18-5 with four consecutive points, building a lead as large as 13.
Lamar trimmed the deficit to nine during a 4-0 run that featured two kills from Malinowska and an ace by Gonzalez.
The second set featured 16 ties before the Wildcats used a late 7-2 run to pull away and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Abilene Christian opened the third set with five consecutive points.
The Cardinals responded with a 5-0 run, highlighted by two service aces from Hughes, to even the score at 7-7.
The Wildcats regained the lead with a 4-0 run before Lamar answered with a 6-1 surge to take a 13-12 advantage.
Abilene Christian responded with four straight points to move back in front, 16-13.
The teams battled through six ties down the stretch before Lamar closed the set with back-to-back points, including a kill by Martinez, to avoid the sweep.
Abilene Christian put together its largest run of the match in the fourth set, scoring nine unanswered points to build an 11-2 lead.
The Wildcats continued to pull away, using an 8-0 run to extend their advantage to 16 points.
MATCH NOTES
- Malinowska recorded another double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs.
- Hill and Martinez added six kills each while Elms finished with four kills, three total blocks and four digs.
- Gonzalez dished out 15 assists and added six digs while Hughes contributed 11 assists, three service aces and five digs.
- Baker led the Cardinals defensively with 12 digs.
UP NEXT
The Cardinals will conclude play at the ACU Invitational with a 1 p.m. match against North Texas on Saturday, Aug. 29.
#PeckEmCards
