Lady Cardinals Open SLC Tournament with 3-0 Win Over SHSU :: Lamar takes on Texas State Saturday at 5 p.m. in semifinals

Nov. 16, 2007

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - After a slow start, the No. 1 seed Lamar University volleyball team stormed past the No. 8 Sam Houston State Bearkats 3-0 in the opening round of the Southland Conference Tournament at the Convocation Center on the campus of UT-San Antonio.

With the win the Lady Cardinals improve to 25-8 on the year and advance to play the Texas State Bobcats on Saturday a 5 p.m. in the semifinals. With the loss Sam Houston finishes the year with an 11-19 record.

The Lady Cardinals struggled offensively in game one as Sam Houston rallied to a 24-19 lead. With the game slipping away and the LU hitting just .025, head coach Justin Gibert called a time out to help his team gain their composure. The break in the action was just what the Lady Cards needed, as they ripped off an 11-3 run to take the opening game 30-27.

Lamar finished game one with a .143 hitting percentage, while the Bearkats managed to hit just .044. Kaci Brewer led the way offensively for LU, knocking down five kills, while Molli Abel and Destiny Mason each added four kills. Adrianne Meengs passed out 13 assists and picked up six digs in the game.

In game two the Lady Cards continued the strong play that helped them race past the Bearkats in game one, hitting .356 as a team and cruising to a 30-20 win. Brewer and Mason were the offensive leaders for Lamar, posting eight and seven kills apiece, while Meengs dished out 16 assists.

In game three Lamar continued to steamroll through the Bearkats, closing out the Kats with a 30-16 win. The Cardinals hot offensive play propelled them to a .344 hitting percentage, led by Brewer who had four kills. Meengs continued her strong play from the setter position, passing out 12 assists.

"I though t we came out a little jittery in game one, but we settled in and got it going late in the game," Gibert said "We rallied behind out outsides Kaci (Brewer) and Destiny (Mason), and of course the conference player of the year Molli Abel was very impressive with her shot making. This is a nice win that sets us up for a big match tomorrow against Texas State."

Brewer led the way for Lamar in the match, knocking down 17 kills with a .400 hitting percentage, while Mason was dominating with a double-double, knocking down 14 kills and picking up 13 digs. Abel posted a match-high .571 hitting percentage with eight kills, while Meengs finished the match with 41 assists and nine digs. Libero Andrea Hamilton also played a solid match for LU, registering 10 digs.

The Bearkats were led by Cynthia Yarotsky who had 14 kills and 14 digs, while Megan McNamara passed out 25 assists. The SHSU defense was led by Shamira Washington who collected a match-high 16 digs.