Cards go distance, beat SE Louisiana

Published 12:25 am Friday, October 27, 2017

Lamar sports information
HAMMOND, La. – Tomar Thomas had a career-high 25 kills as the Lamar Cardinals rallied for a scintillating five-set win over host Southeastern Louisiana in Southland Conference women’s volleyball action on Thursday.

Thomas had just five errors on 57 attempts for a .351 hitting percentage as the Cardinals (4-17 overall, 2-9 Southland) kept their hopes alive for a berth in next month’s Southland Conference Tournament.

“We needed this win,” LU coach Alan Edwards said. “We needed it bad.”
The Cardinals are 2.5 games behind Abilene Christian for the eighth, and final, berth in the tournament. LU has five matches remaining, while Abilene Christian has six. The Cardinals are at Abilene on Nov. 4.

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After winning the first game 25-16, the Cardinals dropped 29-27 and 25-15 decisions in the next two sets as the Lady Lions (2-23, 0-11) went up 2-1 in sets. Southeastern Louisiana was one point away from winning the match on two occasions in the fourth set, but after the Lady Lions went up 27-26, the Cardinals ran off three straight points, capped by a Thomas kill for a 29-27 win to force a fifth set.

The Cardinals wiggled out of trouble in the final set, finding a way to win after the Lady Lions went up 14-11 in the 15-point match. LU ended the match on a 6-1 run, sealing the victory on an assisted block by Thomas and Amy Hollowell.

Thomas wasn’t the only one with a monster hitting night for the Cardinals.

Iyaria Walker had a .500 hitting percentage with 14 kills against only two errors in 24 attempts. Dannisha House and Murielle Hlavac added nine kills apiece in the win. Hlavac had a match-high 20 digs for LU, with Kaitlyn Nutt posting 17 digs and Monica Strohschein contributing 15 digs. Haley Morton had 62 assists for LU.

About I.C. Murrell

I.C. Murrell was promoted to editor of The News, effective Oct. 14, 2019. He previously served as sports editor since August 2015 and has won or shared eight first-place awards from state newspaper associations and corporations. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, grew up mostly in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

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