Match Information
Score: St. Edward's 3, Lubbock Christian 2 (25-22, 13-25, 25-21, 14-25, 15-11)
Records: Lubbock Christian (21-9, 10-2 Heartland), St. Edward's (18-11, 7-5 Heartland)
Location: Rip Griffin Center – Lubbock, Texas
 
Highlights
Lubbock Christian University had their best season since moving to NCAA Division II come to an abrupt end Friday, as they fell 3-2 to No.4-seed St. Edward's 3-2 in the semifinals of the Heartland Conference Tournament. LCU fell despite a 24-kill performance from Lauren Zoller, a near-triple-double effort from Bradi Marshall (49 assists, 16 digs, 7 blocks) and a season-high 40 digs from Kelsie French. SEU was led by Mikayla Parker's 19 kills. The loss ends LCU's season at 21-9.
 
How It Happened
  
Set One:
Parker had five kills in the opening set for SEU, with a pair sparking a 5-1 rally to break a 10-10 tie. Zoller matched Parker for LCU with five kills in the set and she cut the SEU deficit to 20-18. The teams would trade off points the rest of the way and an Alexa McAndrew kill clinched the set 25-22 for SEU to take a 1-0 match lead. Each team had 16 kills in the set, with SEU notching 4.0 blocks in the set to provide the difference.
 
Set Two:
LCU exploded for a 12-3 run in the second set to claim a quick 25-13 set win to tie the match. Zoller had seven kills on 15 attempts in the set, as LCU had a 15-9 advantage in kills during the set.
 
Set Three:
The Lady Chaps fell into a funk after the score was tied 7-7 in the third set, as they strung together four straight attack errors. The errors allowed SEU to go on a 9-2 run. LCU, trailing 18-10, railed back on a 10-3 run and trailed 21-20, but back-to-back kills by SEU's Melissa McNeil allowed SEU to win the set 25-21. Th Lady Chaps went from a .324 attack mark in the second set to a .064 mark in the third set, with Ashley Vanfleet leading LCU with three kills. French had 12 digs in the set to lead LCU, while SEU's Parker had a five-kill set. The Lday Chaps lost the set despite seven blocks in the set (five by Jaiden Kennedy).
 
Set Four:
The fourth set played out similar to the second set, with LCU closing out the set on a big offensive run. With the score tied 10-10, LCU closed out the set on a 15-4 run to force a fifth set. Zoller duplicate her efforts in the second set with seven kills (on 13 attempts).
 
Set Five:
SEU opened the decisive set with a 3-0 lead and never trailed. They led as much as 13-8 in the set and LCU was unable to rebound. Parker led all players with four kills in the set.
 
Inside the Numbers:
 
21-9 – LCU completed their season record at 21-9, (conference mark of 10-2). The 21 wins is the most since they had 23 in 2012 and it is the ninth time LCU has hit the 20-win mark under head coach Jennifer Lawrence (15^th season). LCU's 10-2 record in conference helped claim their first Heartland Conference regular season title.
 
40 – Kelsie French marked a season-high 40 digs. It is her highest single-match mark since Nov. 18, 2016 against St. Edward's. Her career high mark also came against St. Edward's (42 on Oct. 6, 2016).
 
2,580 – Kelsie French's 40 digs helped her eclipse 600 digs on the season (609), providing her at least 600 digs in all four seasons. Her career digs mark ends at 2,580, which is the second most in program history and third highest in Heartland Conference history (15^th highest career total in NCAA Division II history).
 
2-2 – LCU and SEU were meeting for the fourth time this season and the two teams split the matchups 2-2. LCU, who had won 14 of the prior 16 meetings, falls to 14-7 all-time against SEU.
 
1-4 – LCU is 1-4 all-time at the Heartland Conference Tournament, with their lone win coming in a win over St. Edward's in 2016 at Fort Smith, Ark. LCU made 17 prior Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament appearances previous to making their Heartland Conference Tournament debut in 2015. The last time LCU had hosted a postseason tournament was in 2009, as LCU hosted the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament.
 
24 – Lauren Zoller produced a career-high 24 kills and 26 points.  The totals were the second highest on the season by a Lady Chap, as Ashley Vanfleet had 26 kills and 27.5 points on Oct. 30 against West Texas A&M.
 
1st – The loss was LCU's first this season in which they had topped their opponent in kills (63/60), digs (107/96) and blocks (13.0 – 11.0).
 
13.0 – LCU matched a season high (marked their third highest total in a five-set match since 2008) with 13.0 blocks. They ironically had 13.0 blocks on Oct. 6 vs. St. Edward's. Bradi Marshall notched a career-high seven blocks and Jaiden Kennedy matched a career-high mark with eight blocks for a fourth time this season.