LUBBOCK, Texas (September 8, 2023) - The Lubbock Christian University Lady Chaparrals are off to their best start to a season since 2010 (8-0), as they defeated Arkansas Tech in three sets (25-14, 25-18, 25-22) Friday inside Rip Griffin Center to move to a 6-0 mark on the season.
The Lady Chaps attack was paced by junior Kiana Fallaha, who finished with 16 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .378, and by sophomore Payton Murray, who had 10 kills. Lily Bickley produced 10 points and joined Fallaha (16) and Payton Murray (10.5) in double-figures (in points).
Game Notes
» Senior Chloe Menard had a match-high two aces in the win. LCU had a 3-1 advantage in aces, and the one ace allowed was key after allowing more than double figures in aces the prior two games.
» Lubbock Christian never trailed on the way to winning the first set 25-14.
» Lubbock Christian never trailed on the way to winning the second set 25-18.
» Junior Kiana Fallaha had a match-high 16 kills for Lubbock Christian. Fallaha has produced 67 kills over a span of four games.
» Lubbock Christian got a team-high 10 digs from sophomore Olivia Elofsson.
» Lubbock Christian attackers were helped by a match-high 30 assists from Junior Kayton Genenbacher. She also produced five kills and had a .556 attack percentage.
» For the first time this season, LCU out-blocked their opponent. The Lady Chaps had 6.0 blocks (compared to 5.0) advantage and Bickley led LCU with four blocks.
» LCU had a hitting percentage of .318, which is a season high and the highest mark since hitting .319 on Oct. 28. 2021 against Western New Mexico.
» The two teams were meeting for the second time all-time and for the first time in Lubbock. The win has LCU 2-0 all-time against ATU.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Lady Chaps won the first point and held the lead the rest of the way to win the first set 25-14. Lubbock Christian led by as many as 13 points at 20-7 before closing out the set. Fallaha led LCU with five kills in the stanza.
SET 2 | Lubbock Christian won the second set 25-18 to swiftly take a 2-0 lead. The Lady Chaps led from the first point on in the set to earn the victory. Lubbock Christian opened up as much as a nine point lead at 20-11 before finishing off the set, collecting 16 kills in the set. The Lady Chaps hit .371 over the course of the set. Fallaha (5) and Genenbacher (4) combined for nine kills in the set.
SET 3 | Lubbock Christian then sealed the sweep with a 25-22 victory in set number three. LCU overcame a 10-7 deficit and took the lead for good at 22-21 in a set that showcased two lead changes before the Lady Chaps took over in the second half of the stanza. The Lady Chaps racked up 17 kills over the course of the set. Fallaha had another explosive set, as she notched six kills in the set. Payton Murray had four kills, including the match-point kill to clinch the match.
What's Next
LCU's final match of the Chap Classic is Saturday at 1 p.m. against Minot State.
Portions of this article created using technology provided by Data Skrive.
