CANYON, Texas (September 5, 2015) – Opening weekend for Lubbock Christian proved noteworthy Saturday night as the Lady Chaps took down 22^nd-ranked West Texas A&M for the first time since 2010 behind 35 combined kills from Maddie Johnson and Emily Hanaway to cap a 3-1 showing at the BritKare Lady Buff Classic held inside The Box.
 
Five years had passed since LCU (3-1) last defeated WT (3-1), as the Lady Buffs held a 27-8-1 all-time record over the Lady Chaps heading into the showdown. Johnson's 18 kills were a team high, as were Mallory Powell's career-high 51 assists and Kelsie French's 26 digs. 
 
In the five-set triumph (19-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-23, 15-7) LCU racked up 80 digs compared to 66 by the Lady Buffs and compiled 10 more kills than the home team, despite WT's front row tallying 10 more blocks on the evening.
 
The monumental win adds another piece of history on the season as 2015-16 marks the inaugural year of competition for Lubbock Christian in NCAA Division II after receiving full membership status this fall.
 
Head Coach Jennifer Lawrence received the third win in her career in fifteen attempts against the powerhouse. "We were glad to finish the tournament with a win. We have a great deal of respect for WT—their players and their program," Lawrence stated.
 
The defeat of the Lady Buffs is also the first for all current Lady Chaps, including redshirt seniors Johnson and Kacey Deterding. Johnson remarked, "We have worked extremely hard over the past few weeks for this moment. I am so proud to be a part of this team and would not have wanted to finish the night with anyone else."
 
Deterding, who totaled 11 kills, added, "The fight we had tonight was amazing. Our defense was on point, and our offense was unstoppable. I'm so excited for what we can do this season."
 
LCU began day two of the tournament, reeling from yesterday's five-set loss to Eastern New Mexico, by taking on Colorado State-Pueblo. Set one was tight throughout with ties at 18, 20 and 21 before an LCU service error gave the advantage to the Thunderwolves at 22-21. A kill and a block provided the final points for a CSUP 1-0 match edge.
 
The Lady Chaps responded well in set two, racking up a 5-0 lead on kills by Ariel Froeschl, Christiana Tavo and Johnson, along with a pair of service aces from Powell. A block by Deterding and Hanaway opened the lead to 12-4, and another Tavo kill extended the gap to 19-8. The Thunderwolves came back with two kills and used four straight LCU attack errors to climb back into the game at 19-14, but the Lady Chaps were able to hang on to tie the match at 1-1.
 
Trailing 12-10 in set three, kills by Johnson and Tavo, coupled with three CSUP errors and a Johnson ace put LCU in front, 16-12. The Thunderwolves crept to within 21-18 before Deterding put the Lady Chaps up 2-1 in the match on a closing kill. In the fourth set, LCU once again started strong, piecing together runs of 4-0 and 5-0 for a 15-4 edge. CSUP was unable to pull within six points the remainder of the set, allowing the Lady Chaps to secure their second win of the tournament.
 
The Lady Chaps enter into their first Heartland matchup of the season at Texas A&M International on Thursday at 7 p.m. and travel to compete in Texas A&M-Kingsville's Emerald Beach Hotel-Javelina Volleyball Invitational Friday and Saturday.