Cardinals fall to Southeastern Louisiana in five-set thriller

BEAUMONT, Texas — Southeastern Louisiana outlasted Lamar University in five sets, 25-17, 20-25, 25-20, 13-25, 15-6, Saturday afternoon at McDonald Gym. The opening set featured six ties, with Lamar taking an early 10-7 lead behind two kills from Maja Malinowska during a 3-1 run. Southeastern responded with a 9-1 surge to build a 16-11 advantage. The Cardinals trimmed the deficit to three points with a 3-1 run sparked by two kills from Nisaan Martinez and another from Kinley Elms . Southeastern answered by scoring the final three points of the set to secure the opening-frame victory. Malinowska recorded three consecutive…