LUBBOCK, Texas (October 11, 2014) – Lubbock Christian hung on for a tight four-set victory over St. Mary's on Saturday afternoon at the Rip Griffin Center, aided by a game-high 18 kills by Maddie Johnson and another 15 tacked on by Amy Edwards.

The Lady Chaps (12-2, 9-1 Heartland), tied for first place in the Heartland Conference,  had a bit of a tough time rattling St. Mary's after winning the first sets by scores of 25-18 and 25-21. StMU (8-8, 5-5 Heartland) came on strong in the third set to win 25-18, but LCU was able to fend off their competitors with a narrow 28-26 set four and match victory.

Leading two sets to one, five LCU kills in set four helped prompt the home team to an early 6-2 edge, but the Rattlers responded after a timeout to knot the game at 7-all. A kill by Johnson and a block by Samantha Matthews and Channing Castleberry, combined with a pair of St. Mary's errors, put the Lady Chaps up, 12-8. Following two kills by Johnson, LCU seemed to have a bit of breathing room with a 21-16 lead, but a trio of Rattler kills and a block on Johnson immediately pulled StMU back into the contest at 21-20. A bad set by Rattler Kalyn Guthrie put LCU at match point, but St. Mary's came through with a fury, amassing two kills and a duo of blocks, giving the visitors a 25-24 edge. Two crucial errors by St. Mary's MacKenzie Wright returned the single-point lead to LCU before Rattler Lauren Slaughter came through with a kill. Edwards provided her final heroics with two vital kills to seal the set and match victory for the Lady Chaps.

LCU never trailed in the first set, stretching the lead to a much as seven at 19-12 after a Johnson kill, Erin Fisher ace and a kill by Matthews. The Rattlers slithered to within 21-18, but the Lady Chaps withheld the 5-1 StMU rally by reeling off the final four points of the set, including a pair of kills by Edwards for the set one win.

The Lady Chaps relinquished their lead one time in the next set, falling behind 18-17 on a blocked Castleberry attack attempt, but LCU quickly regained the lead on a kill by Edwards and then a Castleberry redemption kill before a St. Mary's ball handling error forced a Rattler timeout with LCU leading 20-18. Tied 20-20, the Lady Chaps went on a 5-1 run to close game two.

In set three, LCU was able to take a quick 4-1 advantage, but that diminished just as fast with a 7-2 Rattler run. The Lady Chaps were never able to take the lead again, stumbling to a 25-18 loss.

Fisher notched double-double number 10 of the season by accumulating a game-high 54 assists and 15 digs, while Christa Daniel totaled a team-high 22 digs.

For St. Mary's, Wright had 13 kills, and Victorria Martinez led all players with 23 digs.

The Lady Chaps hit the road next week, traveling to Midwestern State for a 6 p.m. matchup on Wednesday, followed by a Thursday contest at Newman at 7 p.m. and wrapping up at Oklahoma Panhandle State on Friday at 6 p.m.