Nov. 8, 2005

Box Score

BEAUMONT, Texas - The Lamar University volleyball team won its third consecutive match Tuesday night, taking a 3-1 decision over the Mavericks of UT-Arlington in the Montagne Center.

The Lady Cardinals jumped out to a quick start in the match, winning game one 30-26. Lamar was led in the opening frame by Buchi Okoh who had seven kills and a .600 hitting percentage.

In game two the Lady Cardinals strung together a late run to grab a three point lead at 27-24, holding on to win 30-28, and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

In game three the Mavericks refused to go down without a fight in the match, handing Lamar a 30-25 loss and forcing a fourth game.

In game four the Lady Cardinals jumped out to a 13-point lead at 23-10 before the Mavericks slowly began to chip their way back into the match. UTA closed to within six points of Lamar, but that was as close as they would get as Lamar won 30-24.

The win improves Lamar's Southland Conference record to 6-8 and gives them a 7-18 overall record. The 6-8 record seals Lamar into the conference tournament which will be held in Arlington next weekend.

Head coach Justin Gibert said the win was good for his team, because it proved they are worthy of their spot in the tournament.

"Winning this match was important because it really validates our ranking," he said. "If we had lost this match tonight there would have been a seed of doubt about how much we deserved to be in the tournament, but I think we really earned it tonight."

For the match, the Lady Cardinals had five players record double digit kills, led by Okoh's 21 kills and a .405 hitting percentage. Courtney Mitchell added 15 kills and seven blocks on the night, while Nikki Perry continued her solid play with 14 kills and eight digs.

Freshman Meagan Adams posted the first double double of her career with 10 kills and 10 digs, while Lauren Rush posted 10 kills. Setter Ashley Todd passed out a match-high 58 assists, and the LU defense was anchored by Alyssa Parks and Erica Brown who finished with 21 and 19 digs respectively.

The Lady Cardinals will be in action again on Friday and Saturday night when they host Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State at 7:30 both nights in the Montagne Center.

Gibert said the weekend matches will be very important for his team, because they will be a preview for the SLC tournament.

"We are going to get a good look at the top team in this conference on Friday and Saturday night," Gibert said. "Those teams are at the top of the league and that's exactly who we are going to see in the tournament."