WICHITA, Kan. (October 24, 2015) – A career-high 17 kills by Ariel Froeschl and a career-best 57 assists from Mallory Powell were not enough to overcome second-place Newman in a five-set showdown (25-22, 25-22, 22-25, 15-25, 12-15) Saturday afternoon inside Fugate Gymnasium, but the Lady Chaparrals rebounded with a four-set victory (25-17, 19-25, 25-23, 25-21) over Lone Star Conference leader and regional force Tarleton State.
 
Today's Newman win gives the Jets (20-6, 9-2 Heartland) a season sweep over the Lady Chaps (13-9, 7-5 Heartland), but LCU still hangs onto fourth place within the conference with a half-game lead over Texas A&M International for the final spot in the conference tournament. While the win against TSU (20-4, 8-1 Lone Star) does not have any conference implications, it is a high-quality victory against a team that is currently receiving votes in the national rankings.
 
Versus Newman, sets one and two were contested very tightly, with LCU pulling out 25-22 victories. Trailing 21-20 during in the opening set, two kills by Froeschl and another from Maddie Johnson pushed the Lady Chaps in control at 23-21, and a big block on power hitter Ashley Gonzalez prompted set point. A kill by NU's Kayla Turner was equaled by one from Johnson to put LCU up 1-0 in the match.
 
The ensuing set saw the Lady Chaps again facing a 21-20 deficit, but a Newman attack error, an Emily Hanaway kill to the back corner, a Kelsie French ace and a block by Christiana Tavo and Hanaway placed LCU at set point once again before Kacey Deterding provided the final point on a kill.
 
The Lady Chaps jumped to a 5-1 advantage in set three before the Jets propelled their way to a to a 22-20 lead before kills by Hanaway and Johnson matched the score. A ball handling error called on setter Mallory Powell followed by a Jet kill and Johnson attack error doomed LCU and kept NU alive in the match. 
 
The fourth set was not one to go the Lady Chaps' way, as the team fell behind, 16-7, before needing an injury timeout for Powell. The momentum stayed in favor of the Jets throughout to force a fifth set.
 
Two errors by NU in the final set gave LCU a 4-2 lead, but a 3-1 Jet run, capped by a questionable service line call, knotted the score at 5-all. The squads swapped sides after a trio of Lady Chap attack errors, but a kill by Deterding and an NU attack error brought the score even at 8-8. Froeschl flew high for two kills and an 11-11 tie before a Gonzalez kill put the Jets ahead at 12-11. Froeschl tallied another score and Gonzalez answered with one of her own, and the pair again created the same result for a 13-12 NU edge. A tough serve by Gonzalez resulted in an ace, and a final kill by Newman's Gaylynn Jones gave the Jets the hard-fought victory.
 
The last time the Lady Chaps and TexAnns faced off, it was 2004 and head coach Jennifer Lawrence was in the midst of her first season leading the Lady Chaps while now-assistant Mandy Polk was a senior setter on the team. That match ended in a 3-2 loss for LCU, but on this occasion the duo was able to lead the squad to the statement win. A huge defensive effort on the net led to the Lady Chaps amassing a season-best 15 team blocks with Tavo stopping a career-high 10 attacks along with seven each from Hanaway (also a career-high) and Froeschl. The feat proves even more impressive considering it came against the nation's kill leader in TSU's Hailey Roberts.
 
Seemingly chapped from the loss just minutes prior, LCU plowed their way to a 17-9 lead in set one and maintained a 20-14 advantage before tacking on another four points and then finishing off the set with a Froeschl kill. However, the TexAnns responded quickly in set two by accumulating a 15-5 lead that included four aces at the expense of the Lady Chaps. Down 20-12, LCU strung together a six successive points to close to within 20-17, but two Roberts' kills extended the margin to 22-17. A TexAnn block placed the teams at set point, and a Lady Chap attack error finished off the frame.
 
Set three came down to the final plays after a 22-all tie on a Tavo kill. A TSU block preceded a service error to place the stanza at 23-23, and a solo block by Hanaway inched the Lady Chaps closer to force a TexAnn timeout. TSU immediately fed Roberts, but Hanaway and Tavo were there to shut her down and put their team up 2-1 in the match.
 
The Lady Chaps turned a 12-11 edge into a 15-11 advantage in set four on kills by Deterding and Hanaway coupled with a service ace from Kyleigh Lucia. LCU stretched the gap to 20-14 on a Johnson kill, but the TexAnns steadily crept back to within 23-21. A serve by Roberts sailed deep and a Hanaway kill on the next play sealed the victory for the LCU.
 
The Lady Chaps host non-conference opponent Wayland Baptist on Military Appreciation Night at the Rip Griffin Center Tuesday at 7 p.m.