LUBBOCK, Texas (September 17, 2021) – Lubbock Christian University opens the home and Lone Star Conference volleyball slate Friday hosting Arkansas – Fort Smith inside Rip Griffin Center. The opening homestand has LCU welcoming Oklahoma Christian Saturday for the Eagles first-ever visit to LCU in volleyball.
 

Home and Conference Openers For LCU
OPPONENT	LOCATION	DAY	TIME (CT)	WATCH	STATS
Arkansas-Ft.Smith	Rip Griffin Center	Fri, Sept. 17	6 p.m.	Video	Stats
Oklahoma Christian	Rip Griffin Center	Sat, Sept. 18	2 p.m.	Video	Stats
Game Notes (PDF)

ARKANSAS – FT. SMITH | Friday, Sept. 17 | 6 p.m. | 
- The Lady Chaps and UAFS will meet for the 15th all-time meeting, with LCU coming in with wins in two of the previous three meetings. Despite LCU's series success over the prior three matches, the Lions are 12-2 all-time against LCU. UAFS is 4-1 all-time against LCU in Lubbock. The Lady Chaps lone home win over UAFS was on Oct. 21, 2017, as LCU ended UAFS's 43-match conference win streak. The previous meeting was in Lubbock and resulted in a 3-1 UAFS win on Nov. 1, 2018.
- UAFS won the North Division of the LSC last season with a 10-2 division record. They finished 11-2 overall, as they fell in the second round of the LSC Championships at UT Tyler, and enter this season preseason picked fifth in the LSC Preseason Poll.
- The Lady Lions are 5-3 this season after playing eight matches at tournament locations. They went 3-1 at the Lady Buff Classic (Canyon, Texas) and 2-2 at the Valdosta State Fall Tournament in Valdosta, Ga. They are 0-2 in road play this season, as they fell 3-1 at West Texas A&M (non-conference) and 3-2 at Valdosta State.
- Entering the weekend with 81 blocks, UAFS is fifth nationally in total blocks, ranking 19^th with a pace of 2.45 per set. Hannah Holland ranks third in the LSC and 41^st nationally with a per set mark of 1.16 blocks.
- Holland also leads the LSC in aces with 16 served on the season (0.50 per set ranks third in the LSC). Her season-high mark is four, which she has completed twice on the season.
 
OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN | Saturday, Sept. 18 | 2 p.m. | 
- LCU and the Eagles met at the Eagle Invitational on Sept.3, where LCU won 3-0 to take a 3-0 lead in the all-time series. Prior to the meeting in the opening week of play, LCU and OC had not faced each other in volleyball since October 16, 1980 (Lady Chaps claimed a 3-0 win in Oklahoma City at "The Barn," which is now known as the Dave Smith Athletic Center). Each of the prior three meetings have been in Oklahoma City.  
- OC is in their second season of having volleyball since their reinstatement of the program. Last season, OC went 6-12 and it was their first season of play since fall 1983. They went 4-5 at home last season.
- The Eagles are preseason picked No.12 in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll. They are 4-4 through the opening two weeks of play. Seven of the eight matches were played at home, and with their Friday night match at Angelo State (San Angelo, Texas), LCU will mark their third consecutive road match.
- OC head coach Jason Skoch is in his first season coaching the Eagles. Skoch is a familiar coaching foe of LCU, as he served as head coach of West Texas A&M from 2009-2018 and went 11-3 against LCU (while at WT). LCU head coach Keith Giboney (388) and Skoch (441) have combined for 829 wins, but the two coaches had never faced each other until meeting Oct. 3 in Oklahoma City.
- The Eagles rank second in the LSC and ninth nationally with a digs-per-set mark of 19.32, completing the task without any individuals in the top-10 in the conference in the category. They lead the LSC with 599 total digs.
 
LADY CHAP NOTES
- LCU enters the week following a 3-2 road win at Colo. Colorado Springs to close out their play at the Mountain Lion Class, where they faced a pair of nationally ranked programs. The 3-2 win was achieved coming back from a 2-0 deficit and it places them with an overall record of 4-4 and 3-0 in road matches.
-LCU went 0-13 in the second set of matches of played last season. This season, LCU has won the second set in six of their eight matches (LCU is 3-3 when winning the second set. LCU is 4-0 this season when winning the third set and 3-0 when winning the opening set.  
-Last season, LCU had an attack percentage of .080, which ranked 16^th in the LSC. This season, LCU is hitting .239 and ranks third in the LSC. Hannah Froeschl leads LCU in hitting, ranking ninth in the LSC hitting .331. 
-The Lady Chaps, who defeated Wayland Baptist 3-1 in their home opener last season, is 9-3 in home openers since 2008. The Lady Chaps went 2-5 at home last season and went 10-5 at home in 2019. They have eight games scheduled at home this season.
- On Jan. 26, LCU defeated West Texas A&M in Lubbock during their LSC opener, which improved LCU to 23-3 all-time in program history in conference openers and 2-0 in Lone Star Conference openers.
-Mixing in Jane Sargent, the UAFS head coach who recently clinched 700 career wins and enters Lubbock with 701 career wins, the three head coaches on display in Lubbock, for the opening week of LSC play, combine for 1,530 wins (Sargent – 701, Skoch – 441, Giboney – 388). Giboney and Sargent have faced each other twice historically, with Giboney falling twice (with Harding) during the 2009 and 2011 seasons facing UAFS.
- Kendall Mahaney ranks second in the LSC in digs (133) and sixth in digs per set (4.43). She has three matches with at least 20 digs on the season.
- LCU is fifth in the conference in opposing blocks, as their opponents have been limited to 1.47 blocks per set.
- While LCU has served up 30 aces on the season, with aces from 10 different Lady Chaps. Kendall Mahaney leads LCU with 10 serving aces. On the error side, LCU opponents have served 53 errors (1.8 per set), while LCU has produced 25 serving errors.
- Aaliyah Gray was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Mountain Lion Classic hosted by UCCS in Colorado Springs, Colo., producing 48 kills in the four matches in Colorado, at a pace of 3.43 kills per set. She also had 2.07 digs per set and produced her first two career double-doubles of her college career. Two of LCU's matches in Colorado were against nationally ranked opponents, and Gray, a true freshman, posted 21 kills (.341 attack percentage) and 17 digs in a double-double performance against No.4 Washburn. The 21 kills was the most by a Lady Chap since Ashley Vanfleet had 22 vs. Texas Woman's on Nov. 1, 2019. The mark also tied the amount for the second-most kills in a four-set match by a Lady Chap since 2008. Overall on the week, she hit .299 with 56 kills (3.29 per set and 11.2 per match) and 31 digs (1.82 per set). Gray ranks sixth in the LSC on the season with 86 kills (14^th in kills per set at 3.07).