Dec. 4, 2008

AUSTIN -

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The Lamar University volleyball team will take the court at Gregory Gym Friday night at 6:30 for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1993 when they take on the University of Texas.

This will be the 25th meeting between Lamar and the University of Texas, and just the second meeting in the last 18 years, with the series tied at 12 wins apiece. The last meeting between the Lady Cards and the Longhorns was in 2005 when they met on September 10 at the Magnolia Invitational hosted by Ole Miss. Texas handed Lamar a 3-0 loss to even the all time series.

The last time Lamar defeated UT was on November 6, 1980 when Lamar handed the Horns a 2-1 loss. The Lady Cardinals dominated the early years of the series, winning the first 10 meetings between the two programs and 12 of the first 13. Since that time however, Texas has been the one in control, winning the last 11 including a pair of NCAA Tournament matches in 1983 and 84.

This is the third time in school history that the Lamar volleyball program will make their way to Austin for the NCAA Tournament. The first two trips came in 1983 and 84 when the Lady Cardinals took on the Longhorns after winning the Southland Conference tournament. This is LU's first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1993 when they took on Arizona after winning the Sun Belt Tournament.

Lamar is led by Shalayne Blythe's 2.30 kills and 0.79 blocks per set, while Kaci Brewer is averaging a team-best 2.60 kills and 2.36 digs per set. Genevieve Gladle is averaging 2.03 kills and 2.80 digs per set and Meagan Adams is averaging2.07 kills per set. Lauren Holdorff is averaging 2.10 kills and a team-high 0.86 blocks per set while Adrianne Meengs and Ashley Todd has paced the LU attack with 8.44 and 7.96 assists per set. Andrea Hamilton leads the defense with 3.66 digs per set.

As a team the LU offense has posted a .206 hitting percentage this season, while allowing their opponents to hit .182. The defense averages 15.42 digs per set and 1.90 blocks per set for the Lady Cardinals.

The winner of the Lamar-UT match will meet the winner of the Wichita State-Rice match at 6:30 on Saturday.