LUBBOCK, Texas (September 19, 2015) – The Lubbock Christian University volleyball team battled from an 0-2 match deficit against Newman Saturday afternoon inside the Rip Griffin Center but came up short in the fifth set to suffer their fourth consecutive loss in 2015, the most successive setbacks the Lady Chaps have undergone since the 2006 season where the team lost seven straight.
 
The five-set match (21-25, 15-25, 25-20, 25-23, 11-15) featured all three Heartland Conference Players of the Week in Newman's hitter Ashley Gonzalez and setter Alexus Litts, along with LCU's libero, Kelsie French.
 
LCU's first point of the match was gained on a kill that bounced off of Maddie Johnson's head onto Newman's side. The set stayed close throughout with the Jets (8-4, 2-1 Heartland) going up 23-20 due to a pair of kills and block assist by NU's Gonzalez. A pair of Lady Chap attack errors closed set one.
 
A negative hitting percentage in set two doomed LCU (5-6, 2-2 Heartland), as the Lady Chaps committed nine errors compared to eight kills. LCU led early on at 1-0 and 2-1, but the Jets took off and cruised to a 10-point set victory.
 
Trailing NU 2-0, the Lady Chaps went on a 4-0 run in set three to go up 9-5 in an effort to deny the Jets a sweep, but Newman responded with five consecutive points to take the lead at 10-9. With the Lady Chaps leading 19-18, Johnson and Kacey Deterding pounded a pair of kills for a three-point advantage before Christiana Tavo came through with two more to up the lead to 23-19. Kyleigh Lucia's service ace at set point kept the Lady Chaps alive.
 
In set four, LCU jumped out to a 6-2 lead and added another point by catching Newman in the midst of an early celebration while the ball was still in play. The Lady Chaps extended their advantage to 14-9 on a Deterding kill, but the Jets fought back to knot the set at 22-all. With LCU clinging to a 24-23 lead, Deterding provided a kill to force a fifth set.
 
Newman rushed out to a 3-0 lead in set five before the Lady Chaps got on the board with a kill by Ariel Froeschl. The Jets extended the gap to 5-1 to force head coach Jennifer Lawrence to call a timeout. A Newman attack error and block by Powell and Emily Hanaway lessened the lead to 7-5 before NU upped the lead to 10-6 on service ace that hit the tape and fell to the floor. A Johnson kill brought LCU to within 11-8, but a final barrage of Jet points eventually stalled the Lady Chaps to give Newman the conference victory.
 
For LCU, three players totaled double-digit kills: Johnson (14), Hanaway (13) and Froeschl (11). Powell handed out 47 assists and registered a career-high 25 digs. French also had a career-high in digs with 39.
 
For the Jets, Gonzalez racked up 26 kills while Litts registered 57 assists.
 
The Lady Chaps have a pair of matches next week, hosting Heartland member Texas-Permian Basin Friday at 7 p.m. followed by Lone Star Conference foe Midwestern State Saturday at 2 p.m.