Lubbock Christian University Athletics

Mindy (Ratliff) Jones was the first three-time NAIA All-American in Lubbock Christian volleyball history, dominating as one of the region's best middle-blockers during her time on the court from 1997 through 2000. 

The Lady Chaps either shared or won the Sooner Athletic Conference Championship all four years of Jones' career, and she racked up the individual honors as well. She was an All-SAC Tournament Team selection in 1998 and was named to the NAIA All-America Third Team, becoming the first All-American in LCU volleyball history along with teammate Kari (Barrett) Bezner. She was named to the All-SAC First Team in 1999, as well as the First Teams for both the All-Independent Team and the All-Region VI Team, while making the NAIA All-American Team again as an Honorable Mention. To cap things off in 2000, Jones was named the All-SAC First Team as the conference's Most Valuable Player and was also the MVP of the All-Region VI Team, while earning a spot on the NAIA All-American Second Team. 

At the end of her career, Ratliff owned the Lubbock Christian program records for games played (566), kills (2,174) and assist blocks (475). She also added in 151 solo blocks, which is still good for the seventh most all-time, and holds a number of LCU single-season records. 

In her freshman season, Jones played 129 sets, seeing action in all but one of LCU's 39 matches. She tallied 193 kills, which was good for fifth-most on the team, while adding in a team-second 24 solo blocks and 87 block assists. Lubbock Christian went 30-9 on the year and won the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament, clinching the school's first trip to the Southwest Regional Tournament.      

The Dumas native really broke out, however, in 1998, when she set a new LCU single-season record for kills with 635. She added in 117 block assists and 53 solo blocks, which along with her .400 hitting percentage, helped the Lady Chaps all the way to the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in school history, where they reached the Elite Eight. 

Lubbock Christian reached the NAIA National Tournament once again in 1999. Jones

somehow improved on her sophomore year performance, notching 827 kills, a Lady Chap record that still stands today. She had a .399 hitting percentage for the year while tallying 152 block assists and 41 solo blocks. 

The Lady Chaps had a more balanced attack for the 2000 season, but Ratliff still led the team with 519 kills on a .357 hitting percentage. Her 519 kills were the fourth-highest single-season total, giving Jones three of the top four spots in that category. She also added in 119 block assists and 33 solo blocks as LCU shared the Sooner Athletic Conference Championship. 

Mindy was inducted into the LCU Athletics Hall of Honor in 2007. She is married to former LCU men's basketball player Brandon Jones, who was also inducted into the Hall of Honor in 2016. The two reside in Canyon, Texas.