With their conference tournament hopes on the line, Lamar University gutted out a back-and-forth five-set victory on Senior Day against McNeese to stay alive for a postseason berth. The Cardinals came out on top Saturday afternoon in McDonald Gym, 3-2 (25-22, 17-25, 25-10, 23-25, 15-11).
Lamar (14-12, 6-8 SLC) hit 59-16-166 (.259) on the afternoon with nine aces and 13 blocks. Maja Malinowska posted her 12th double-double of the season with a team-high 20 kills and 12 digs while Taisha Rhone had one herself with ten kills and ten digs. Lyric Jordan recorded 10 kills and four blocks while Keeley Nellis led the team with 19 digs.
McNeese (9-17, 5-9 SLC) finished the match with a hitting percentage of 16.8 percent (62-30-191) along with 13 aces. The Colonels were let down by 30 attacking errors and nine reception errors.
Both teams traded points early in the first set with the Cardinals up two heading into the media timeout. The set was knotted up at 21, but Big Red finished strong by scoring four of the final five points and taking advantage of seven kills from Rhone in the frame.
The visitors came out on fire in the second set taking an early 9-3 lead which forced a timeout from Big Red. The hosts failed to cut the deficit to less than four the rest of the way as McNeese never trailed in the frame to tie things up at one apiece.
It was the hosts who would not trail in the third set, however, with a 12-6 start prompting a timeout from the Cowgirls. McNeese pulled to within three late in the period but could not overcome ten attacking errors.
Set 4 was a wild affair featuring 10 ties and five lead changes with neither team leading by more than three points. Lamar held a late lead before McNeese reeled off five of the final six points to force a fifth set.
The Cowgirls held a one-point advantage when the teams switched sides midway through the final set. The Cardinals responded, however, with a 6-0 run and ultimately finished things off to complete their second five-set victory of the week.
Lamar finishes the regular season on the road next week with crucial matchups against McNeese (Thursday at 6:30 p.m.) and Nicholls (Saturday at 1 p.m.). Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.