SAN ANTONIO -- The University of the Incarnate Word volleyball team begins a final stretch of five matches in nine days when they welcome Lamar to the McDermott Center Thursday night at 7 p.m. (CT). The match is one of four crucial conference matches remaining for UIW as the Cardinals push for their first SLC Conference birth on program history.
 
This is the second meeting between the two Southland Cardinals, LU won its home match, 3-1, back in September (9/25).

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LAST TIME OUT

• UIW split its final SLC road trip of the season last weekend, beating Nicholls in five sets before falling to New Orleans, also in five.
• Freshman outside hitter Bethany Clapp delivered 41 kills over the weekend, including a season-high 23 kills at Nicholls. In doing so, she broke her previous season-best mark of 20 kills, set the week prior (@ McNeese Oct. 16).
• She also registered 23 digs over the two matches, earning her fourth and fifth double-doubles of the season (23 kills, 11 digs @ Nicholls, 18 kills, 12 digs @UNO).
• Clapp finished the weekend with seven blocks, including a season-high five in the loss to New Orleans.
• Freshman setter Pilar Gonzaba posted the third double-double of her college career, leading the team with 35 assists while also adding 12 digs at Nicholls. She added 23 at UNO to finish the weekend with 58 digs across ten sets of action.
• As a team, the UIW defense set a new season high with 92 digs against Nicholls. This was the most in a single match by any UIW team since October 2015 (98 vs. MCN), and the fourth most in a single game since UIW joined DI in 2013.
• Sophomore libero Madelynn Miller was at the forefront of that historic defensive effort, leading the team with 27 digs. She would finish with the same total at UNO to give her 54 in total.
• Sophomore outside hitter Julia Monday put together 14 kills on a team-leading .361 attack percentage at Nicholls. Two days later, she added 11 kills to boost her weekend total to 25.
• Freshman middle blocker Carissa McGarity led the team, along with Monday, with three blocks.
• Freshman Kendall Kilchrist finished the weekend with 35 assists and posted a season-best four kills from the setter position against UNO.
• Junior outside hitter Cameron Taylor had a phenominal game at UNO, posting 10 kills, five aces and eight digs, all career highs.
• She became the first Cardinal to register five aces in a single game this season.
• Senior middle blocker Maddie Slaughter tied her career best with seven blocks at UNO, matching her mark from 10/6 @ HBU.
• She led a UIW defense that totaled 12 blocks, marking the third time this season the Cardinals have amassed double-digit blocks.

 
STORYLINES

• The Cardinal freshmen have asserted themselves as one of the top all-around freshman classes in the conference.
• Clapp has established herself as a premier offensive weapon on the outside. She leads the team with 266 kills, including 173 in SLC matches. Her 3.37 kills per set is the best among freshman in the conference, fourth best overall.
• She posted an .824 hitting percentage in UIW's victory over Alcorn State (9/15), the best attacking percentage for a single match in the conference (minimum of 12 kills).
• Clapp has now become the first freshman to eclipse 200 kills in her debut season since 2015, and just the fourth freshman to do so since UIW joined DI in 2013.
• Gonzaba now owns 462 assists this season. She now holds the UIW DI record for most assists by a freshman in a single season – previously held by Madison Williams (402) set in the 2014 season.
• Her 42-assist performance in UIW's 3-0 win over SHSU (Sept. 27) stands as the most assists by anyone in the SLC over the course of a 3-set match. Her 54-assist match against Abilene Christian (Sept. 29) is the fifth most assists in a single match in the conference this season.
• On the year, Gonzaba sits second best among freshmen in the conference, and eighth best overall, with 7.22 assists per set.
• McGarity sits among the top freshmen in the SLC with 0.9 blocks per set played. She also leads the team with 74.0 blocks this year.
• She leads the team in hitting percentage (.247). The 15th best rate in the conference among hitters who have played in 80 or more sets.
• Miller leads the team with 342 digs. She stands third in the conference in digs per set, averaging 4.62.
• Slaughter has been making the most of her senior season. She has posted career highs in kills (112), blocks (41.0) and digs (26).
• She has been in the midst of a torrid stretch to close out her final Cardinal campaign – 19 kills and 14 blocks in her last three matches.

 
CARDINALS IN CONFERENCE

• UIW has a 4-8 SLC record.
• Miller is second in the SLC with 236 digs in conference play. She ranks third in the conference in digs per set, averaging 4.82.
• Clapp is third in the conference in total kills (173).
• She is also the top freshman in the conference, third best overall, in kills per set (3.6).
• The Corpus Christi native holds five double-doubles in conference play including one in her last three matches (@ SLU, Sept. 22, vs ACU, Sept. 29, @MCN, Oct. 16, @Nicholls, Oct. 25, @UNO, Oct. 27).
• Gonzaba owns 303 assists and averages 7.97 assists per set in conference play. That's the seventh best average in the conference and second best among qualifying freshman setters.

 
CONFERENCE OUTLOOK

• UIW sits in 10^th place in the conference heading into the weekend, two games behind the No.5 seeded team (A&M-CC).
• Only the top eight teams in the conference qualify for the SLC Tournament in Natchitoches, La. next month (Nov. 15-18).
• UIW has four conference games remaining, all against teams within two games of UIW in the conference (Lamar (1 game behind UIW), McNeese (1.5 games ahead), HBU (1 game ahead) and A&M-CC (2 games ahead).

SCOUTING LAMAR

• The Cardinals currently occupy 11th place in the conference (6-18, 3-10). They enter the match one loss away from being eliminated from postseason play.
• They are led offensively by Tomar Thomas. The 6-1 senior posted 17 kills in UIW's prior meeting with Lamar.
• UIW leads the all-time series against Lamar, 5-3, despite falling in four sets to LU earlier this season.

 
UP NEXT
The Cardinals continue their push for the postseason on Saturday when UIW will attempt a season-sweep of McNeese (Nov.3 at 10:30 a.m.). The remaining three matches in the season-ending stretch will be at Texas Southern, Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 6:00 p.m., followed by a pair of home matches, Thursday at 7:00 p.m. against HBU and Saturday at noon against A&M-CC.

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