Oct. 22, 2009

At the halfway point of the Southland Conference season, the Lamar volleyball team finds itself in second place in the West Division, just one game back of Sam Houston State.

The Lady Cardinals are 6-2 in the league, just behind the Bearkats at 8-1. Lamar will play its final four home matches beginning Friday against arch-rival McNeese State. First serve at McDonald Gym is 7 p.m. and the free spirit noodles will be handed out at the door.

Lamar (11-8) has won three-consecutive matches and seven of its last eight, including all three at home.

The Cowgirls enter the weekend with a 15-6 overall record and are in tied for third place in the SLC East Division with a 3-4 record. McNeese's senior setter Sara Cartie is 14 assists shy of 4,000th in her career. That would allow her to become just the second Gowgirl to reach 4,000 assists and 1,000 digs.

The series history has been controlled by the Lady Cards as they hold a 41-18 all-time lead. LU won both matches a year ago and has claimed three of the last four. From 2003-07, McNeese posted a 8-1 record in the head-to-head matchups.

On Saturday, Stephen F. Austin will make its first visit to Beaumont in three years. That also means the Ladyjacks will get their first taste of McDonald Gym - a place the Cardinals have compiled a 26-2 record in two-plus seasons. The afternoon contest will begin at 3 p.m.

SFA (16-10, 5-3 SLC) comes into the match following a tough 3-2 loss at Sam Houston on Wednesday, as the Ladyjacks hit just .170.

LU holds a 28-19 lead in the series with SFA and has won each meeting in the last two seasons.

McNeese and SFA both bring strong defenses with them as they rank among the league leaders in opponent hitting percentage, blocks and digs. McNeese leads the league in all matches with a .139 opp. hitting pct., while ranking second with 15.3 digs per set. SFA is yielding just a .162 hitting pct. in SLC play and leads the 12-member group in all matches with 15.7 dps.

Lamar ranks second overall with a .219 hitting pct. They also rank second in conference matches as well but the pct. is higher at .225.

Saturday could be a very defensive battle as SFA and LU rank one-two in overall blocks.

Tickets are $3 for adults and $2 for youths and seniors, while LU students are admitted free of charge.