FORT SMITH, Ark. (September 21, 2023) – Lone Star Conference play begins this week around the conference and Lubbock Christian University opens their 16-match conference slate Friday at Arkansas Fort Smith (first serve at 6 p.m. inside Stubblefield Center). Their opening week of conference action continues Saturday with a 2 p.m. match in Oklahoma City against Oklahoma Christian.
  

LSC VOLLEYBALL
OPPONENT	LOCATION	DAY	TIME (CT)	WATCH	STATS
UAFS	Ft. Smith, Ark.	Fri, Sept. 22	6 p.m.	Video	Stats
Okla. Christian	Oklahoma City, Okla.	Sat, Sept. 23	2 p.m.	Video	Stats

GAME NOTES (PDF)
 
LOOKING AT UAFS
- The Lady Chaps and UAFS will meet for the 17th all-time meeting, with LCU coming in with wins in three of the previous five meetings. Despite LCU's series success over the prior five-match span, the Lions are 13-3 all-time against LCU. The previous three meetings have been in Lubbock and the last time LCU played in Fort Smith was Oct. 11, 2018. LCU does not have one player on their current roster from that match and the meeting, which LCU won 3-0 (the match was UAFS's first-ever conference loss in straight sets), and the match was a Heartland Conference match. Friday's meeting may be their first-and-last meeting as LSC foes in Fort Smith, as UAFS has announced they are moving to the MIAA.  

- UAFS is preseason picked eighth in the Lone Star Conference preseason poll. They went 16-14 overall last season and finished seventh in the LSC with an even 8-8 record.

- Friday's match is the home-opener for the Lions, who posted a 6-3 record at home last season. The Lions, who are 8-3 this season, played in tournaments in Newberry, S.C., Pittsburg, Kan. and Kingsville, Texas to complete their pre-conference slate. They went 2-1 in Kingsville, falling to Angelo State 3-2 to wrap-up the LSC Crossover. Like LCU, two of their three matches in the LSC crossover resulted in five-set decisions.

- The Lions are sixth nationally in digs per set (19.0), which leads to ranking 11^th nationally in attacks per set (39.1). Individually, Paola Fragalle ranks sixth in the LSC and 43^rd with 4.81 digs per set and Caelyn Gunn ranks fifth in the conference (57^th nationally) in attacks per set with 10.2.  

- Setter Chloe Price leads the LSC and is 25^th nationally in assists (396) and is third in the conference with a pace of 11.6 assists per set. She has eight double-doubles on the season and has posted at least 40 assists in the prior three matches.
 
LOOKING AT OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN
- LCU holds a perfect 6-0 record all-time against the Eagles. LCU won the first 14 sets played in the all-time series. Saturday, the two teams played five sets, with LCU overcoming a 14-13 deficit in the fifth to win the set 16-14 and the match 3-2. After three consecutive meetings in Lubbock, the all-time series returns to Oklahoma City, where LCU is 3-0 all-time against the Eagles. The two teams last played in Oklahoma City on Sept.3, 2021 (LCU won 3-0) in a non-conference match. This meeting will mark their first LSC match hosted by OC.

- OC is preseason picked 11th in the Lone Star Conference preseason poll. They went 15-14 overall last season and was one of four teams tied for 11^th in the LSC with a 6-10 record. They closed the season 2-6 in their final eight matches.

- The Eagles head into the week second in the LSC with 1.9 aces per set. Giorgia Turri leads the LSC with 20 aces. She averages a LSC-best 0.62 aces per set.  

- Camryn McGough leads OC in total blocks (46, fifth), with Megan Rek (45, eighth) ranking second on the club and both are in the top-10 in the LSC in the category. McGough (1.10) and Rek (1.07) each average over a block a set. As a team, OC ranks fifth in the LSC with 2.19 blocks per set.

- Like UAFS, OC has yet to play a home match. They spent the prior two week's worth of matches in Lubbock, going a combined 4-3 in the Chap Classic and LSC Crossover (LCU hosted both events). The Eagles opened their season in Sal Lake City, Utah.
 
LADY CHAP NOTES
- LCU was one of 13 unbeaten teams this season before falling 3-2 last Thursday (Sept.14) to UT Permian Basin. The season start was their best since opening 2010 with an 8-0 record. The loss Thursday also ended an eight-match win streak if include their season-ending win last season (their longest under head coach Keith Giboney and the longest streak since a 12-match win streak in 2018).  LCU went 1-2 in the LSC Crossover, which concluded Saturday with a 3-2 LCU win over OC. The Lady Chaps are 8-2 on the season and their pre-conference record was their best 10-match start to their season since opening the first 10 matches of the 2014 season with a 9-1 record..

- Kayton Genenbacher has five double-doubles this season and enters this week ranking second in the LSC in assists (371, 37^th nationally), assists per set (9.76, 36^th nationally) and seventh in aces with 17 (eighth in aces per set at .45). Her assists are fueling a Lady Chaps offense that ranks 51^st nationally (sixth in the LSC) in kills per set (13.0) and is hitting .203 on the season. Genenbacher is 42 assists away from 1,500 in her LCU career.

- Kiana Fallaha ranks second in the LSC in kills per set (3.9) and fourth in kills (147). She is fifth in the LSC in points per set with 4.2. Fallaha is third in the LSC with a pace of 11.1 attacks per set and has produced over 40 attacks in five matches this season.

- LCU ranks seventh in the LSC in digs per game (16.4), but it has been a balanced effort, as the Lady Chaps do not have any representation in the top-15 in conference leaders in digs. Chloe Menard is LCU's leader with 3.66 digs per set, as she has 139 total digs on the season. Four Lady Chaps (Menard, Genenbacher, Olivia Elofsson and Fallaha) have at least 2.5 digs per set.

- Lubbock Christian is 1-0 in road matches this season, with a 3-2 win at Montana State Billings representing their lone true road match this season. Kiana Fallaha is averaging 5.0 kills and Kayton Genenbacher is on a pace of 12.6 assists per set in road play. Defensively, Chloe Menard is averaging 6.0 digs per set.  
 
- The Lady Chaps went 7-9 in conference matches last season. LCU fell last season to UAFS in their conference opener, which placed LCU with a 24-4 all-time record in conference openers and 3-1 in Lone Star Conference openers. The Lady Chaps are opening conference play on the road for the first time since 2019. They are opening conference play against UAFS for a fifth time and in Fort Smith for a second time Friday.