FORT SMITH, Ark. (September 20, 2017) – Lubbock Christian University plays their third match of an eight-match road trip and their Heartland Conference opener Thursday evening, facing Arkansas Fort Smith (UAFS) inside Stubblefield Center. LCU is 1-1 on the trip following a 3-0 loss to No.6 Nebraska – Kearney Saturday in Canyon, Texas.
  
ARKANSAS FORT SMITH (8-5) | Thursday, Sept. 21 | 6 p.m.
Stubblefield Center (Fort Smith, Arkansas)
Tweet #LCUvsUAFS | Tweet #HeartlandVB
• The Lady Chaps and UAFS are meeting for the 11th all-time meeting. UAFS, who defeated LCU in all three 2016 meetings, is 10-0 all-time against LCU.
• After winning five regular-season titles in a row and four tournament championships in that time span, the Lady Lions were a near unanimous pick to claim the conference crown again in 2017 receiving 13 of the 14 first-place votes in the conference preseason poll. They come into the contest holding an 8-5 record this season.
• The Lady Lions have won 37 consecutive regular season conference matches and haven't lost a regular season league match since Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014, when they lost in four sets to the Newman Jets at the Stubblefield Center. Factor in conference tournament matches, and the Lady Lions have won 43 matches in a row overall against conference opponents. Since joining NCAA Division II in 2009, the Lady Lions are 114-12 all-time against conference opponents.
• UAFS is ranked third nationally in total attacks (1,975) and digs (967), and ranked sixth in assists (632) and kills (666).
• Individually, Autumn Reese leads the nation in digs (324) and Debra Rogers leads the nation in total blocks (69). Susannah Kelley ranks second nationally in assists (534) and Reese is fifth in digs per set (6.48).
 
GAME NOTES
• Last season, LCU opened Heartland Conference play with a 3-0 home loss to UAFS to place them 3-1 in Heartland Conference openers. They went 17-1 in Sooner Athletic Conference openers prior to becoming Heartland Conference members. Head coach Jennifer Lawrence is 12-2 in conference openers.
• The Lady Chaps are ranking 53^rd nationally in digs per set (17.6), with Kelsie French ranking 21^st individually with 5.8 digs per set. She is 45^th nationally in total digs with 210.
• Emily Hanaway is coming off Heartland Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors. The junior from Leander, Texas averaged 4.3 kills per set and averaged five points a set. At Texas - Permian Basin, she produced a season-high 19 kills (tied for the second most in her LCU career). On the week, she also hit .356 with three aces and two blocks.
• LCU is coming off a season high 11 blocks against Nebraska - Kearney, with Hannah Thomas producing nine and Jaiden Kennedy combining for eight blocks. It was the Lady Chaps highest block total since producing 15 on Sept. 8, 2016 against Tarleton State. The individual block totals were career highs for both Kennedy and Thomas. Thomas' nine blocks were the most since Ariel Froeschl produced nine against Texas Woman's on Sept. 3, 2016.
• Lauren Zoller ranks second in the Heartland Conference in attacks per set with a pace of 9.8 per set. Ahead of her is UAFS's Anna Demmer (11.41).
• LCU averages 38.1 attacks per set, which ranks in the top-50 nationally at 41^st.