BEAUMONT, Texas -- The University of the Incarnate Word volleyball team dropped the final contest of its three-match, SLC-opening road trip, falling to Lamar, 3-1, Tuesday evening. UIW finished the stretch with a win and two losses, with each match lasting four sets.
 
NOTABLES

• Freshman outside hitter Bethany Clapp led the team with 14 kills, her fifth consecutive match with double-digit kills (seventh overall).
• Senior outside hitter Maddie Slaughter delivered eight kills on a team-best .389 hitting in just two sets of action.
• Freshman defensive specialist Chloe Patton matched her season high with 12 digs, previously set against EWU (9/15).
• Sophomore libero Madelynn Miller also had 12 digs, marking her eighth double-digit dig performance of 2018.
• Freshman middle blocker Carissa McGarity matched her season high with three aces, including an ace to clinch the third set.
• Freshman setter Pilar Gonzaba led the team with 17 assists. 
• On the defensive side, Gonzaba added a block and nine digs, matching a season high set vs. UTSA (8/31).

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 (23-25) | The opening set was a tumultuous affair. The score was tied 10 different times with both teams holding leads of three points or more on multiple occasions.  Some careless play from Lamar gave UIW an early lead, 13-10. After a timeout, the LU defense responded with a pair blocks that sparked a 7-1 run to retake the lead. Clapp delivered a string of kills to give UIW a late, 20-18 lead, but Lamar's offense corrected its earlier mistakes and took the first set. Clapp led the team with five kills.
 
SET 2 (20-25) | The second set proved to be just as evenly matched as its predecessor. Both teams exchanged kills in the early going with no discernable momentum shifts. Then, with the score tied 12-12, LU went on a small, but critical, three-point run to give itself some breathing room. Later, Lamar went on another three-point run to give itself a 21-15 advantage. UIW offered a late surge, but it fell short and Lamar took a 2-0 match lead. Clapp led the team with four kills.
 
SET 3 (25-22) | Slaughter was injected into the lineup, producing immediate results for the UIW offense. She contributed three early kills and the Cardinals secured a 12-8 lead. UIW protected the lead for the remainder of the set, with McGarity delivering her third ace of the match to force a fourth set. Slaughter led the team with six kills and Gonzaba distributed 12 assists in the set.
 
SET 4 (16-25) | LU's offense responded with a feverish attack in the fourth set. The home team lashed out to a 14-4 lead, on .875 hitting. Although UIW hampered LU's efficiency later in the set, the visiting Cardinals were unable completely close the gap. Lamar ultimately took the match, hitting .294 in the set.
 
UP NEXT
UIW opens its home Southland Conference schedule on Thursday against Sam Houston State (7 p.m.). The Cardinals then welcome Abilene Christian on Saturday (2 p.m.). These two matches are the final in UIW's stretch of five matches in nine days.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
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