BILLINGS, Mont. (September 1, 2023) -- Lubbock Christian University got the job done in three sets (25-21, 25-11, 25-21) to take down the Mary (N.D.) Marauders Friday at Alterowitz Gymnasium to close out a perfect day (2-0) in the opening day of the Yellowjacket Invitational (hosted by Montana State Billings) and of the opening day of the Lady Chaparrals season.
The Lady Chaps offense was paced by sophomore Payton Murray, who finished with 11 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .476, and by senior Kalli Dalland, who had 10 kills while hitting .529. Defensively, two Lady Chaps reached double figures in digs, as senior Chloe Menard had 16 and sophomore Olivia Elofsson had 10 digs.
Game Notes
» Freshman Madyson Eberly notched her first collegiate ace in the match. She had made her LCU debut Friday morning against Black Hills State, but against Mary, LCU had team debuts by Mikalie Floyd (a kill), Macie Morgan (two digs) and Jaiedyn Rankin (a dig).
» Sophomore Payton Murray had a match-high 11 kills for Lubbock Christian. Through two matches on the young season, Murray is the only Lady Chaps member on the day to record at least 10 kills in each match.
» Lubbock Christian got a match-high 16 digs from senior Chloe Menard. She was joined in double figures by Elofsson (10 digs), as the two reached double figures in the category in each of Friday's matches.
» Lubbock Christian attackers were helped by a match-high 32 assists from Junior Kayton Genenbacher. She averaged 10.7 assists per set on the day.
» Senior Kalli Dalland's 10 kills marked the second time in her LCU career she has reached double figures in kills. She had a whopping 10 kills on 17 attempts (.571).
» Kiana Fallaha registered nine kills in the match, with six registered in the opening set of the match.
» The meeting was LCU's first meeting against Bismarck, N.D. based Mary. The win was LCU's first against a North Dakota based program and they are now 1-1 all-time against N.D. programs.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Lady Chaps opened up an early 1-0 set-lead, winning the first set 25-21. Lubbock Christian never trailed by more than two points and grabbed the advantage for good at 14-13 (part of a 5-0 run to rally from a 13-11 deficit) in a set that showcased three lead changes before the Lady Chaps took over in the second half of the stanza.
SET 2 | After their win in the first set, Lubbock Christian put themselves on the cusp of a sweep with a 25-11 victory in set number two. The Lady Chaps grabbed control of the set lead early on at 6-5 and held the lead the rest of the way. Lubbock Christian opened its biggest lead of the stanza, 14 points, to close out the set (closed the set on an 18-5 run).
SET 3 | Lubbock Christian finished off the match in a 3-0 sweep after taking the third set. The Lady Chaps took control of the set early when the score was 3-2 and never looked back to win 25-21. Lubbock Christian led by eight points at 22-14 before finishing off the stanza.
What's Next
LCU remains in Billings Saturday, as they close the Yellowjacket Invitational facing another North Dakota based program (Minot State at 3 p.m. CT) before facing tournament host MSU Billings (7 p.m. CT).
Portions of this article created using technology provided by Data Skrive.
