SAN ANTONIO, Texas (October 28, 2016) – Lubbock Christian University (13-10, 6-3) travels to San Antonio Friday for a Heartland Conference clash with St. Mary's University. LCU is looking to rebound from Saturday's 3-1 loss against Arkansas Fort Smith. The Lady Chaps currently sit in third place in Heartland Conference standings. Even though St. Mary's holds a 10-7 all-time record against Lubbock Christian, the Lady Chaps are riding a five game win-streak against the Rattlers.
 
St. Mary's University (11-11, 4-5) | Friday, Oct. 28 | 6 PM
Bill Greehey Arena (San Antonio, Texas)
Twitter: LCU: (@LCUchaps, @LCUvolleyball) StMU: (@StMarysRattlers, @StMUvolleyball)
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- St. Mary's is coming off of a huge 3-1 victory over St. Edwards University this past weekend. Despite residing in fifth place in Heartland standings, the Rattlers are looking to close the gap on the fourth place spot.
- LCU won the last meeting between the squads by a score of 3-2 (in LCU's Rip Griffin Center, Sept. 29, 2016).      
- St. Mary's was picked to finish fourth in Heartland Conference preseason polls. The Rattlers hold a 4-5 conference record and a 4-3 record at home this season.
- StMU leads the Heartland in aces per set by a mark of 1.56 and rank second in conference with 125 team aces.
- Freshman Shelley Chapron leads the Heartland in hitting percentage with a .333. Chapron also leads the Rattlers defense with 66 total blocks on the season.
- Tarine Grace paves the road for the St. Mary's offense. She has provided 200 kills on the season on 2.6 kills per set to lead the Rattler attack.
 
GAME NOTES
- LCU head coach Jennifer Lawrence is one win away from eclipsing 300-career wins.
- This will be the fifth game of a six-game road stint for LCU. A win over St. Mary's would allow Lubbock Christian to close the distance between them and second place St. Edward's. LCU has a game-in-hand over SEU and a win would give them matching conference records (SEU holds the current tiebreaker).
- In the last meeting, the Rattlers initially took a 2-1 lead. However, the Lady Chaps climbed back and won the match in five sets (3-2). The match was Sept. 29 at Rip Griffin Center.
- Kelsie French has remained a defensive giant for the Lady Chaps. She tallied 26 digs in her performance against UAFS. French is now ranked 21^st nationally with 5.61 digs per set, and 12^th in the country with 494 total digs.
- Emily Hanaway has proven to be a jack-of-all-trades for Lubbock Christian as she nabbed her eighth double-double of the season on 17 kills and 26 digs. She also leads the Lady Chaps with 21 aces on the year. The sophomore ranks second in the conference for points per set (3.83), total attacks (888), and total kills (284). Hanaway's 284 kills have already surpassed her 2015 campaign, where she racked up 281 kills.
- The lone senior, Christiana Tavo, exploded with a season-high 20 kills in LCU's first match up with St. Mary's earlier this season. Tavo ranks second on the Lady Chap squad with 215 kills.
- Mallory Powell has provided the offensive pace for LCU as she now leads the Heartland with 9.55 assists per set and 735 total assists. Powell has accounted for over 75% of LCU's assists on the season.
- LCU holds their opponents to a .134 hitting percentage, which ranks 23^rd in the country. The Lady Chaps also stand 23^rd in the country in total team attacks (3,360).