LAKE CHARLES—McNeese volleyball will continue Southland Conference action on the road this weekend when the Cowgirls travel west on I-10 to Lamar (10-5, 0-1 SLC) Thursday for a 7 p.m. match. McNeese will continue onto Sam Houston State (8-8, 2-0 SLC) for an 11 a.m. on Saturday. Live stats and live streaming links can be found on mcneesesports.com.
 
McNeese (4-11, 1-1 SLC) is coming off the conference opening week with a straight set road win over Northwestern State last Thursday before falling in a five set match at Stephen F. Austin after holding 2-1 set lead over the preseason favorite Ladyjacks.
 
The Cowgirls who rank sixth in the league in digs are led by junior Bridget Justis who is averaging 3.95 digs per set and ranks fifth in the conference. Senior Malina Sanchez has 126 kills on the season for an average of 2.25. Sanchez is also second on the team with 130 digs and third with 12 service aces.
 
Senior setter Kelly Graham, who is coming off a career high 56 assists at SFA, leads the team and ranks sixth in the SLC with 505 for an average of 8.86 per set.
 
Freshman Monica Hudgins has a team high 42 blocks and senior Amber Fryer has been credited with 21.
 
Lamar will enter the match having won four of their last five matches but dropped its conference opener at Sam Houston State last Friday. The Cardinals lead the conference in blocks and are second in hitting percent. Chelsea Grant leads the Cardinals in blocks (76) and kills (148).
 
Sam Houston State has won its last three matches including conference matches over Lamar and Northwestern State and is one of three undefeated teams in the league heading into the weekend. The Bearkats will face Nicholls Thursday before its match against McNeese on Saturday. Brooke White leads SHSU with 202 kills, Claire Kilpatrick leads the team with 4.24 digs per set and Michelle Griffith is averaging 10.03 assists per set.