ANCHORAGE, Alaska (August 25, 2022) – Lubbock Christian University volleyball opens their 2022 season at the Seawolf Invitational Thursday facing host Alaska Anchorage for their first of four matches over a three-day stay in The Last Frontier.
 

Lady Chaps Open 2022 Season at Seawolf Invitational
OPPONENT	LOCATION	DAY	TIME (CT)	WATCH	STATS
Alaska Anchorage	Anchorage, Alaska	Thur., Aug. 25	10 p.m.	Video	Stats
GAME NOTES (PDF)

LOOKING AT ALASKA ANCHORAGE 
- The Lady Chaps and Seawolves are meeting for the first time ever, as the LCU volleyball program is LCU's first program to compete in the 49^th State. Despite o prior history in volleyball, LCU and UAA do have history competing against each other. In women's basketball, LCU claimed a NCAA Division II national title (their first of three) over UAA in Indianapolis in 2016. LCU has never faced an Alaska based program (in volleyball).

- UAA was preseason picked third in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. They went 19-12 overall last season, going 12-6 in conference and qualifying for the NCAA Division II West Regional. They are 3-0 this season after opening their season last week with a trio of wins in Hawaii.  

- The GNAC named UAA's Eve Stephens and Ellen Floyd to their Preseason All-Conference list. A three-time First Team All-GNAC selection, Stephens earned Second Team AVCA All-American honors and was a Third Team CoSIDA Academic All-American. Stephens finished second in the conference with 3.84 kills and 4.47 points per set, ranking 28th in Division II in both categories, with a .257 hitting percentage. She added 0.79 blocks per set and was fourth in the GNAC with 0.42 aces per set. Floyd, a First Team All-GNAC selection, was third in the GNAC with 10.07 assists per set while adding 2.91 digs per set. She finished with double-doubles in 17 matches. Floyd also led the conference with 0.48 aces per set and was ranked 16th in Division II with 53 total aces.

- UAA's 3-0 start in Hawaii led to the Seawolves claiming GNAC Team of the week honors. The Seawolves put up 109 kills with an attack percentage of .319, while holding opponents to an attack average of just .061. They racked up 24 serving aces in their contest.

- Eve Stephens leads UAA this season with a pace of 4.0 kills per set. She has produced at least 10 kills in all three games they have played, with a season-high 14 against Hawaii Pacific.
 
LADY CHAP NOTES
- LCU enters the season with a No.4 Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll ranking. LCU had a huge turnaround season in 2021, as they produced 17 more victories in than they did in the 2020 season. Toss in the COVID factor, LCU went 3-10 in the 2020 season, which was played in the Spring of 2021, changed coaching staffs and went 20-8 seven months later to complete the 2021 season. Their first season under the guidance of head coach Keith Giboney resulted in LCU taking a No.14 preseason prediction and finishing tied for third in the conference with a 14-3 mark. LCU completed their season in the semifinals of the LSC Championships, as they collected their first-ever LSC Championships tournament victory.

- The Lady Chaps roster continues this season with a lot of youth. Fielding a roster of 16 student-athletes, LCU has 14 of the individuals with at least three seasons of eligibility remaining. LCU did lose a pair of First Team All-Conference selections in kills leader Hannah Froeschl and setter Jalee Sims, which will add to the importance of returning Second Team All-Conference and LSC Championships All-Tournament Team selection Sage Chain and LSC All-Freshman Team selections Aaliyah Gray and Kendall Mahaney.

- This season marks LCU's second season under coach Giboney. The Lady Chaps seventh head coach in program history preps for his 17th year of NCAA coaching. Giboney, who has four NCAA Tournament appearances and seven conference titles on his resume, surpassed 400 coaching victories last season and has a career coaching mark of 404-179. Giboney has four new additions joining the Lady Chaps roster this season. Lily Bickley (V.R.Eaton – Fort Worth, Texas), Olivia Elofsson (Lake Country Christian – Fort Worth, Texas), Payton Murray (Holiday, Texas) and Allie Rice (Liberty – Colorado Springs, Colo.) are true freshmen joining a youthful LCU squad. Rice is the only non-Texan on the squad (last season was LCU's first in program history in which every player was from Texas).  

- The LSC recognized 41 student-athletes as Players to Watch heading into the season. Chain, who made the Defensive Player to Watch list, is LCU's only returning All-Conference selection. She is LCU's returning leader in blocks, posting 103 last season. She was also third in kills (242), producing at least 10 kills in 11 matches last season (posted 19 against West Texas A&M). Genenbacher served as Sim's understudy last season and ranked second on the club with 117 assists and is listed as a Setter to Watch. She posted her first career double-double last season (12 assists, 10 digs) against Bentley (Sept. 4, 2021) and had a season-high assist mark of 36 assists in three sets against Wayland Baptist (Oct. 25, 2021). Gray was part of the All-Freshman Team last season and is LCU's returning leader in kills (248). The Offensive Player to Watch member hit the double-figure mark in kills 11 times last season and posted a career-high 21 against nationally ranked Washburn (Sept. 10, 2021, also finished with 17 digs in the match for a double-double). Her kill totals on the season were the highest by an LCU freshman since Emily Hanaway had 281 in 2015.

- Lady Chaps opens a 27-match season in Anchorage, Alaska Thursday at the (Alaska Anchorage) Seawolf Invitational. LCU will play 16 conference matches, playing each LSC program once, beginning September 16 hosting Arkansas – Fort Smith. The LSC will house 17 volleyball programs, which leads to LCU playing everyone once and the 16 matches divided into eight home and eight road contests (in conference play). LCU's first regular season home game is scheduled for September 1, as they open the Chap Classic hosting Southwestern Oklahoma State.

- LCU is 28-15 all-time in season openers and has won 10 of their 14 prior season openers (LCU fell 3-2 in Oklahoma City, Okla. to St. Mary's in last season's opener). The last time LCU opened the season with a road match was Sept. 4, 2014 at St. Mary's in San Antonio, Texas.