Sept. 3, 2008

WICHITA, Kan. - The Lamar University volleyball team returns to the road Thursday night, taking on the host Wichita State in the first round of the Best Western Shocker Volleyball Classic at Charles Koch Arena.

Lamar, 1-1 on the year, is coming off a 3-1 loss to SMU Saturday afternoon at the Baylor Invitation in Waco, Texas. The Lady Cardinals opened the year with a 3-0 win over Prairie View A&M while their final match of the tournament against Baylor was cancelled in order for LU to return home to Beaumont so they could evacuate for Hurricane Gustav.

The Lady Cards have been led by freshman outside hitter Courtney Trevino who is averaging 2.86 kills per game while junior middle blocker Lauren Holdorff has averaged two kills per game. Senior Setter Ashley Todd has run the offense for LU, passing out 62 assists in their two matches.

Defensively Lamar has been anchored by senior libero Andrea Hamilton's 26 digs while junior outside hitter Kaci Brewer has picked up 23 digs. The LU defense at the net is led by senior middle blocker Shalayne Blythe who has four blocks.

Thursday's match will be the fifth for Lamar and Wichita State, with both teams holding a pair of wins in the series. The last time the two teams faced off, LU got the best of the Shockers, winning 3-0 on September 1, 2001.

The Lady Cardinals other three matches at the Shocker Volleyball Classic will be against Cal State Bakersfield, Coastal Carolina and Idaho State.

Lamar fans can follow all of the LU action this weekend by clicking on the following link: http://www.goshockers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=61208&SPID=2838&DB_OEM_ID=7500&ATCLID=1511859