LAKE CHARLES — The Cardinals jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but a stout offensive effort from McNeese State downed the Lamar volleyball squad 3-2 (25-23, 25-15, 23-25, 21-25, 12-15) Saturday afternoon at Memorial Gym in a Southland Conference heartbreaker.

The Cardinals (5-17, 5-5 Southland Conference) was dynamic in the first two sets, holding a .319 attack percentage and 63 percent side out mark in both games combined, but McNeese (8-17, 4-6) turned on the jets late and rallied with a .327 attack mark and 70 percent side out number in the final three sets combined. It put up attack numbers above .400 in each the second and third sets.

Chelsea Grant racked up a career-high 28 kills in the match, which ranks fourth all-time in school history in any match.  She finished the day with a .368 hitting percentage and only seven errors in 57 swings. The 28 kills gave her the second 20-plus kill match of the year and the 10th-straight double-figure kill match.

The fifth and deciding set swung the Cowgirls way. They put down nine kills — one error — and sided out 66 percent of the time, while Lamar had seven kills and four errors and sided out at 53 percent.

In that set, Big Red held a lead as late as 11-10, but the Cowgirls rallied for three-straight points that made it 13-11. Ebony Lewis recorded a kill in the run, but a bad set and attack error helped it. A service error from Lewis gave LU its twelfth point, but Rebecca Korenek and Hailee Showers each had kills to finish it.