COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (September 10, 2021) – For the first time in 10 years, Lubbock Christian University volleyball will play a pair of nationally ranked programs on the same day. The contests open up LCU's play in the 2021 Mountain Lion Classic (hosted by University of Colo. Colorado Springs), opening with No.4 Washburn at 9 a.m. (CT) and No.15 Colorado School of Mines at 3 p.m. (CT).  Play will conclude in Colorado Saturday with LCU facing William Jewell (3pm CT) and tournament host UCCS (8 p.m. CT).
 

Mountain Lion Classic
OPPONENT	LOCATION	DAY	TIME (CT)	WATCH	STATS
No.4 Washburn	Colorado Springs, Colo.	Fri, Sept. 10	9 a.m.	Video	Stats
No.15 Colo. School of Mines	Colorado Springs, Colo.	Fri, Sept. 10	3 p.m.	Video	Stats
William Jewell	Colorado Springs, Colo.	Sat, Sept. 11	3 p.m.	Video	Stats
UCCS	Colorado Springs, Colo.	Sat, Sept. 11	8 p.m.	Video	Stats
Game Notes (PDF)

 No.4 WASHBURN | Friday, Sept. 10 | 9 a.m. CT | 
- LCU and Washburn are meeting for the second time all-time. Washburn defeated LCU in Lubbock, Texas 3-0 on Sept. 7, 2018 in their previous meeting. LCU is 26-7 all-time against Kansas based programs and 16-2 outside of facing Newman (among Kansas based programs).
- Washburn is a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAA). They went 14-5 overall last season, with a 5-3 mark in conference play.  They are preseason picked second in the MIAA this season.
- The Ichabods are off to a 5-0 start this season. They hosted the Washburn Invitational last week, where they claimed wins over No.19 Harding (3-0) and No.15 Northern State (3-1).
- WU ranks second nationally in hitting percentage, posting a mark of.367 on the season. Their season-high mark is .513, which they produced against Minot State. Allison Maxwell leads the Ichabods individually with a hitting percentage of .466, which is 22^nd nationally.
- Faith Rottinghaus leads Washburn with 88 digs, which ranks 24^th nationally.
 
No.15 COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES | Friday, Sept. 10 | 3 p.m. CT | 
- The Lady Chaps and Colorado School of Mines have met two prior times, with the first contest occurring Sept. 11, 1981 in Denver, Colo. The tilt was at a tournament hosted by Regis University and LCU won the match 2-0. The previous meeting was Sept. 6, 2019 in Golden, Colo., as CSM won at home 3-0.
- CSM was picked to finish third in the RMAC (RMAC Preseason Poll). They went 11-4 last season and they won the RMAC Tournament. 
- Last week, CSM hosted the Oredigger Classic and went 3-1 on the weekend. They open with William Jewell Friday before facing LCU.
- LCU's match against CSM will mark a second consecutive opponent that enters the weekend in the top-five in NCAA Division II play in hitting percentage. The Orediggers enter with a mark of .333 on the season.
- Drew Stokes ranks 10^th nationally in assists per set (11.7). She has 164 on the season, ranking 13^th. Her season high is 50 against Grand Valley State.
 
WILLIAM JEWELL | Saturday, Sept. 11 | 3 p.m. CT | 
- LCU and Liberty, Mo. based William Jewell meet for a third time all-time, and it will mark their third neutral site meeting. The series is tied 1-1. LCU defeated the Cardinals 3-0 in the first meeting on Oct. 5, 2003 in Siloam Springs, Ark. The previous meeting was on Sept. 7, 2012 in Stephenville, Texas, with WJC topping LCU 3-2.
- WJC is preseason picked fourth in the West Division of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. They went 1-19 last season. 
- The Cardinals head to Colorado 3-1 on the season, as they participated in the opening weekend of play in Topeka, Kan. at the Washburn Invitational. LCU will mark their final opponent in Colorado, as they face Colorado School of Mines and UCCS Friday and Washburn Saturday.
- William Jewell has 195 kills, which ranks 65^th nationally on the season. The Cardinals have five players with at least 26 kills on the season, with Lily Johnson leading the squad with 37.
- Chloe Robison is hitting .468 for the Cardinals, which leads the team and ranks 20^th nationally.
 
COLO. COLORADO SPRINGS | Saturday, Sept. 11 | 8 p.m. CT | 
- Lubbock Christian and UCCS have alternated outcomes in their four prior meetings, which has the all-time series tied 2-2. The all-time series dates back to 1995. Three of the prior four meetings were neutral site matches, and Saturday's meeting will mark LCU's first against UCCS in Colorado Springs.
- UCCS is a member of the RMAC and they are slated to finish tied for eighth this season. They went 4-10 last season, with a 4-7 mark in RMAC play. 
- The Mountain Lions attended the Washburn Invitational last week and went 1-3, defeating Minot State for their lone win. UCCS will face Texas A&M International and William Jewell Friday before facing LCU Saturday.
- UCCS enters the weekend ranked 23^rd nationally in aces (34) and 32^nd in aces per set (2.27). Maren Burkhart leads UCCS with 0.6 aces per set, and LCU has three players with at least seven aces on the season.
- Lauryn Shockley is UCCS' kills leader with a pace of 3.2 per set. Her season-high mark is 17 kills against William Jewell.
 
LADY CHAP NOTES
- For a second consecutive season, LCU is off to a 3-1 start through their first four matches of the season, and they are a win away from surpassing last season's win total. LCU went 2-1 at the Eagle Invitational hosted by Oklahoma Christian. Dropping the season opener in five sets to St. Mary's (3-2), the Lady Chaps rebounded for a pair of 3-0 victories, topping Oklahoma Christian and Bentley. They continued Tuesday sweeping Wayland Baptist 3-0 for their first three-game streak of straight-set wins since Sept. 29-Oct.6, 2018.
-LCU went 0-13 in the second set of matches of played last season. This season, LCU has won the second set in all four of their matches played.
-LCU has an attack percentage of .244 on the season, but a deeper look inside the number magnifies a positive trend. LCU hit .243 against Oklahoma Christian, .300 against Bentley and .309 against Wayland Baptist, and each mark has been LCU's best mark since Oct. 25, 2018. 
-Sage Post co-led LCU with nine kills against Bentley, hitting a whopping .692. The mark has her ranked eighth in the LSC with a season average of .333, which leads the team.
- Sage Chain ranks fourth in the LSC in blocks per set (1.21). Her top performance this season  has been a six-block performance in LCU's 3-0 road win over Oklahoma Christian. On the offensive side, Chain has 33 kills (2.36 per set).
- Kendall Mehaney ranks 33^rd nationally and is second in the LSC in digs per set with a mark of 5.43.
- LCU is leading the LSC in opponent blocks, as opponents are averaging a low of 1.14 blocks per set. On the flipside, LCU ranks fifth in the conference with a pace of 2.21 blocks per set.
- While LCU has served up 19 aces on the season, their opponents have served seven aces and have committed 30 serving errors for a rate of nine serving errors per match. Seven different Lady Chaps have served at least one ace this season, led by seven from Kendall Mahaney.
- Friday, LCU will play consecutive matches against nationally ranked programs, marking the first time LCU has faced multiple nationally ranked programs on the same day since Sept. 2, 2011, as LCU traveled to Bellevue, Neb. and faced No. 12 Doane and No.15 Northwestern (Iowa).