CANYON, Texas (October 25, 2023) - -Lubbock Christian University was unable to out-play a potent Lady Buffs offense Wednesday on the road, falling to No.5 West Texas A&M in straight sets (16-25, 20-25, 21-25) in a Lone Star Conference "Rivalry on the Range" meeting inside WTAMU Fieldhouse ("The Box").
The loss, in LCU's first match of the season against a nationally ranked program, dropped the Lady Chaparrals record to 14-9 overall and 6-7 in LSC play. It marked the first time this season the Lady Chaps have dropped consecutive road matches (5-3 in road matches this season).
Lacie Schooley finished with 10 kills on the day to co-lead the Lady Chaps offense while finishing with a hitting percentage of .304. Kiana Fallaha also had 10 kills and Lily Bickley finished with nine. On the defensie side, LCU received a team-leading nine digs from Olivia Elofsson.
Game Notes
» Along with a team-leading nine digs, Olivia Elofsson also led LCU in aces with LCU's only aces of the match.
» Lacie Schooley had a team-high 10 kills for Lubbock Christian. Schooley, who was coming off a career-high 17 kills Saturday (against Texas A&M International), produced at least 10 kills in a match in a consecutive match for a second time this season.
» Lubbock Christian fell to 4-4 in matches decided in straight sets this season.
» Lubbock Christian attackers were helped by a match-high 37 assists from Kayton Genenbacher. As a team, LCU had 40 assists, which is their highest total in a straight-set loss since Sept. 9, 2022, which was also against WTAMU.
» West Texas A&M produced 14 blocks, which are the most by an LCU opponent in a three-set match since St. Edward's posted 17 on Oct. 6, 2018.
» LCU's last four matches against a nationally ranked program have all been against West Texas A&M. LCU is 1-3 in those encounters.
» The all-time series slips to a 38-12-1 in advantage of the Lady Buffs. LCU falls to 5-20 all-time at WTAMU, dropping their sixth straight match there against the Lady Buffs.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Lady Chaps found themselves in an early deficit, dropping a tough first set 25-16. Lubbock Christian trailed by as many as nine points as West Texas A&M never trailed in the set. Both squads had 12 kills in the set, with Kalli Dalland leading LCU with four kills.
SET 2 | A 25-20 set-two loss put Lubbock Christian behind two sets to none in the match. The Lady Chaps lost the first point and fought from behind the rest of the way before dropping the set. Schooley and Fallaha each had four kills, as they had eight of LCU's 14 kills to match the Lady Buffs in kills in the frame.
SET 3 | Lubbock Christian could not win set three and was swept by West Texas A&M. The Lady Chaps came up short by the score of 25-21. West Texas A&M grabbed the advantage for good at 20-19 in a set that was tied up nine times before the Buffaloes took over in the second half of the stanza behind a 6-2 run to close the set. Schooley closed the match with six kills in the final frame.
How It Happened
Lubbock Christian returns home Saturday for Play For The Cure Pink Game, presented by LCU SAAC, with the Lady Chaps hosting Cameron at 2 p.m. inside Rip Griffin Center.
Portions of this article created using technology provided by Data Skrive.
