LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (1-0, 1-0 Heartland) at Southern Nazarene (0-0, 0-0 GAC)
Friday, September 5, 2014 at 3 p.m.
San Antonio, Texas (Bill Greehey Arena)
 
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/stmarytx/wvball/
Live Video: http://www.rattlerathletics.com/sports/2012/12/19/rattlerslive.aspx?id=26
 
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (September 5, 2014) – Lubbock Christian volleyball takes on non-conference opponent Southern Nazarene today at the St. Mary's Classic at 3 p.m. in Bill Greehey Arena. It is the season opener for SNU, while LCU is fresh off of a season opening win versus St. Mary's. The Lady Chaps are 48-10 all-time against the Crimson Storm, with LCU winning the past two matches during the 2011 season.
 
LAWRENCE BECOMES PROGRAM'S WINNINGEST COACH IN SEASON OPENING WIN
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (September 4, 2014) – Head Coach Jennifer Lawrence earned win number 251 to surpass Steven McRoberts as Lubbock Christian volleyball's all-time leader in wins during a 3-2 defeat of Heartland Conference member St. Mary's in Bill Greehey Arena on Thursday evening.
The five-set (25-23, 22-25, 25-19, 24-26, 15-13) Lady Chap win marked the first win versus St. Mary's since both schools have been members of the Heartland. LCU (1-0, 0-1 Heartland) improved to an overall record of 3-10 against the Rattlers (0-1, 0-1 Heartland).
Many Lady Chap players added to the commemorative night, most notably Maddie Johnson, who made her debut against the Rattlers after sitting out last season recovering from surgery. The redshirt junior collected a career and game-high 19 kills to go along with nine digs and a service ace. Freshman Channing Castleberry unveiled herself in a Lady Chap uniform, looking impressive while compiling 16 kills and 14 digs.
In the middle position, the rotation of sophomore Ariel Froeschl and freshman Sam Matthews saw several impressive moments, with Froeschl recording a career-high 13 kills along with four blocks and Matthews tallying seven kills and a pair of blocks.
Set one, marked by nine ties and a largest point margin of three, was a clear indication of how tightly the match was to be played. The Lady Chaps took a two-point lead on a Castleberry back row kill, but the Rattlers pushed their way to a 21-18 advantage on a Lauren Slaughter kill. Matthews came through with one of her own and Castleberry put together a pair to knot the game at 21-21, but St. Mary's was able to hang on for the 25-23 win.
The second set was also closely contested. Froeschl delivered two straight kills and teamed up with Castleberry for a block to tie the game at 19-all. A kill by StMU's Melissa Heft brought it to 22-all, but a Heft error was sandwiched between kills from Castleberry and Matthews for a set two Lady Chap victory.
LCU's lowest offensive output on the night occurred in the third set, giving the Rattlers a 25-19 win and a one-game lead. During the fourth set, senior Abby White gave the Lady Chaps an early 7-4 edge after placing two kills to the back line. Froeschl pushed LCU's lead to 10-4 on a block and kill, and Johnson added another for an 11-4 lead, but the Rattlers strung together a 7-1 run to tie things up at 12-12. The Lady Chaps went up 24-23 after the Rattlers were called for a net violation, but an LCU attack error tied it up at 24-24. Castleberry pounded down a point and a big block by Matthews and Castleberry pushed the match into a decisive fifth set.
LCU quickly found themselves in a 5-2 hole before back-to-back kills by Johnson and Froeschl sliced the deficit to one. A costly service error by the Lady Chaps (number 13 on the evening) put St. Mary's up a pair before two Rattler attack errors brought the game to 6-6. A three-point swing gave LCU a tiny bit of breathing room, but that quickly diminished into a 9-9 tie. Four more ties ensued before the Lady Chaps earned a point on a Rattler service error, and then fittingly, Johnson came through with the final point of the match to give LCU the victory.
The Lady Chaps conclude their stay in San Antonio with a game versus Southern Nazarene Thursday at 3 p.m. during the St. Mary's Classic.
 
LCU PREDICTED THIRD IN HEARTLAND
Lubbock Christian volleyball has been picked to finish third out of nine teams in the Heartland Conference as revealed in the annual preseason poll. The Lady Chaps picked up two first place votes in the ballots, voted on by head coaches and sports information directors within the league, for a total of 120 points. Regular season champion Arkansas-Fort Smith took the top spot with 11 first place votes and 151 points, while Dallas Baptist secured second place with four first place votes and 137 points. St. Edward's had the final first place vote and landed in fourth place with 114 points. Head Coach Jennifer Lawrence returns a squad that went 17-12 overall and 13-5 in the Heartland last season to finish in second place. Three of the five conference losses came against UAFS and DBU, with the Lions taking two from the Lady Chaps and the Patriots winning one.
 
LADY CHAP SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
Of LCU's 23 contests, 16 of those matches will be versus Heartland Conference members. Non-conference foes include SNU, Arkansas Tech, Angelo State, along with Midwestern State and West Texas A&M, in which the Lady Chaps will face each once at the Rip Griffin Center and on the road. The first home contest for the Lady Chaps will be September 6 against Texas A&M International, and the last match at the Rip Griffin Center in 2014 will be held November 1 versus Texas - Permian Basin. The final opponent for LCU this upcoming season will be Angelo State on the road November 8.
 
TRIO OF LADY CHAPS ALL-HEARTLAND IN 2013
The Heartland Conference announced its All-Heartland Volleyball team for 2013, with three Lady Chaps representing Lubbock Christian. Juniors Erin Fisher and Kacey Deterding along with sophomore Amy Edwards each earned a spot on the 14-member roster. Fisher, a setter from Monahans, Texas, produced the highest total assist count on the season (995) as well as leading the league is assists per game at 11.71, exactly three more than the next closest competitor. She recorded three career highs during 2013, including 66 assists and 23 digs against UT-Permian Basin and five kills versus St. Edward's. An outside hitter from Lubbock, Texas, Deterding was atop the conference in total kills (442) and boasted the highest average per set with 4.17. She racked up four career highs on the season with 27 kills versus Eastern New Mexico, 28 digs and 2.5 blocks against UT-Permian Basin and two aces versus Dallas Baptist. Deterding also led the conference with 482 total points on the season, registering a league-high 4.55 per set. Edwards, a middle blocker from Brock, Texas, was sixth in the conference with a .256 hitting percentage and also sat in the sixth spot averaging 2.97 kills per set. She accumulated 3.50 points per set to rank her in third place. Three career highs were established by Edwards, with 21 kills against McMurry, seven digs versus St. Mary's and three aces against UT-Permian Basin. The Lady Chaps' three honors tied for the highest total with conference champion UA-Fort Smith. LCU (17-12, 13-5) finished in second place within the conference, but because it is currently a provisional member within the NCAA, the Lady Chaps are not eligible to compete in post-season play or earn end-of-season conference individual awards, despite the impressive finish during the first year in the new league.
 
2013 WEEKLY HONORS
Fisher and Deterding took the Heartland by storm last season, raking in a total of 11 Player of the Week Awards. Fisher's six Setter of the Week accolades was the most in the conference, and Deterding's five Hitter of the Week honors followed closely behind. No other athlete in the conference earned more than four awards. Collectively, the Lady Chaps accumulated a dozen Player of the Week awards, including Edwards' Hitter of the Week and Mallory Powell's Setter of the Week. The next highest team total within the conference is six awards, received by the Heartland Conference's first place team, UA-Fort Smith.