BEAUMONT, Texas — Lamar University travels to Louisiana this week for a pair of Southland Conference matches against Nicholls and McNeese.

Saturday's match against rival McNeese marks the 86th meeting in the Battle of the Border series.
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.

OFFENSIVE CATALYST: Maja Malinowska reached the 1,000-point milestone this season … Entering the match against Sam Houston needing five points to reach the mark, she recorded 11 points to raise her career total to 1,006 … She currently has 1,049.5 career points … Malinowska is 80 kills away from reaching the 1,000-career-kill milestone … Chelsea Grant was the last Cardinal to surpass the 1,000-kill milestone, recording 1,100 career kills from 2013-16 … Malinowska ranks sixth in the Southland Conference with 163 kills and 183 points … Malinowska leads the conference with 3.47 kills per set … She ranks second on the team with 128 digs … Malinowska has recorded seven double-doubles this season and 38 in her career.

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

SETTING THINGS UP: Alexa Gonzalez joined the 2,000-assist club, recording 54 assists to increase her career total to 2,018 … She is the first Cardinal to reach the milestone since Haley Morton, who finished with 2,112 assists from 2015-17 … Gonzalez currently ranks 11th in program history with 2,053 career assists … Gonzalez leads the team with 246 assists.

PINPOINT SERVICE: Katelyn Hughes ranks fifth in the Southland Conference with 17 service aces … As a team, Lamar ranks fifth in the conference with 73 service aces … Hughes, Gonzalez and Malinowska have accounted for 42 of Lamar's 73 service aces this season … Hughes also ranks second on the team with 230 assists and third with 83 digs.

BEST IN BELIZE: Nisaan Martinez ranks second on the team with 137 kills and 34 total blocks … She ranks ninth in the Southland Conference in total blocks … Martinez was named the Best Opposite at the conclusion of the six-day 2026 NORCECA U21 Pan American Cup … The honor marks her fourth international award since 2024 … During that span, she has helped Belize win two gold medals and one bronze medal.

BLOCKING THE OPPOSITION: Saida Maksoud leads the team with 37 total blocks and ranks eighth in the Southland Conference … Maksoud leads the conference with 1.09 digs per set … She is fourth in the league with 36 block assists … As a team, Lamar ranks fourth in the conference with 161 block assists and fifth with 94.5 total blocks.

GO, GABBY, GO: Gabby Baker ranks seventh in the Southland Conference with 208 digs … Baker is 190 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 … Baker etched her name into the record book last season, recording 602 digs to tie Andrea Hamilton's single-season program record set in 2007.

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.