Oct. 4, 2005

Box Score

CHORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - After a two week lay off due to Hurricane Rita, the Lamar University volleyball finally got back on the court, picking up a win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3-1.

Although there was a two week break between matches for Lamar, the Lady Cardinals posted their second consecutive win, after beating Nicholls State 3-0 in Beaumont on September 20, a day before evacuating for Hurricane Rita. The win boosts Lamar's record to 3-12 on the season.

Lamar quickly proved that the two -week layoff would not slow them down, posting a 30-21 win in game one. With the game tied a 14, the Lady Cards steadily pulled away from the Islanders behind strong serving by Alyssa Parks and Erica Brown. Lamar was led in the opening game by Buchi Okoh, who pounded out five kills with a .571 hitting percentage.

In game two the Islanders responded, posting a 30-26 win to tie the game a one apiece.

Game three was a battle that took a little extra effort to get the win for Lamar, as the Lady Cardinals grabbed a 31-29 win to take control of the match.

In game four, the Lady Cardinals overpowered Corpus with a 30-16 win to claim the match. Okoh again proved too much to handle for the Islanders, knocking down five kills with a .559 hitting percentage.

For the match, Okoh led Lamar with 19 kills and a .350 hitting percentage, while Nikki Perry provided 11 kills. Ashley Todd had a solid effort for the Lady Cards, posting the first double double of the season for Lamar with 53 assists and 10 digs.

One of the biggest factors for the Lady Cardinals in the match was the play of their defense, as they collected a season-high 80 digs. Five Lady Cardinals registered double digits in the dig column, led by Parks' 21, while Meagan Adams and Brown provided 13 and 12 respectively. Also in on the defensive effort was Andrea Hamilton who finished with 10 digs.

Along with their strong team-effort digging the ball, the Lady Cardinals had a good night at the net defensively, collecting eight blocks.

The Lady Cardinals will be in action again this weekend when they take on Southland Conference front runner Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches Friday night at 7 p.m., and Sam Houston State in Huntsville on Saturday night at 7 p.m.