SAN ANTONIO, Texas (November 1, 2024) – Lubbock Christian University claimed the first set, but St. Mary's rallied to take the next three, defeating the Lady Chaparrals in four sets (25-16, 26-28, 18-25, 18-25) in Friday's Lone Star Conference matchup at Bill Greehey Arena.
The loss dropped Lubbock Christian's record to 11-10 overall and 7-4 in LSC play, as they have dropped two straight road matches. St. Mary's moves closer to LCU in the LSC standings, as the 14-8 Rattlers are now 6-5 in LSC play.
The Lady Chaps offense was paced by
Kiana Fallaha, who finished with 13 kills on the day.
Lily Bickley added 11 and
Payton Murray chipped in with 10 as part of balanced Lubbock Christian attack. On defense, three LCU players recorded double-digit digs, with
Leddy Rae Guinn leading with 15, followed by
Kayton Genenbacher's 11 and
Abby Benitez's 10.
Bryleigh Schweer led LCU with four blocks (one solo).
Game Notes
» Lubbock Christian had three players in double figures in kills, led by
Kiana Fallaha, who led LCU in kills for the first time since Sept. 29 at Texas Woman's. She had missed six matches during the span.
Payton Murray, who had 10 kills, reached double figures in kills for a ninth time over a 10-match span.
» Lubbock Christian had three players in double figures in digs and had a 62-59 edge as a team. They fall to 9-5 in matches in which they lead the category.
» Lubbock Christian attackers were helped by a team-high 47 assists from
Kayton Genenbacher. She added 11 digs for her 11
th double-double of the season and 35
th of her career.
» LCU fell to 3-7 in road matches on the season. They have dropped their last two road matches.
» The win improved StMU to 17-12 against LCU all-time. LCU falls to 5-4 all-time against StMU in San Antonio.
» The Rattlers received a combined 37 kills from Landri Withers (19) and Alicia Virthe (18).
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Lady Chaps took control of the set-one lead at 3-2 and never looked back to win 25-16. Lubbock Christian opened up its biggest lead, nine points, to close out the set. They hit .444 in the set, Murray led LCU with four kills.
SET 2 | Lubbock Christian then fell in set two 28-26, tying the match at a set apiece. The Lady Chaps fell in a back-and-forth set, losing in a stanza that featured eight lead changes and was tied 20 times. Neither team led by more than three points along the way. LCU had three set-point serves go unsuccessful, as the Rattlers, behind a challenge-review going in their favor, closed the set on a 3-0 run to win the set 28-26.
SET 3 | Lubbock Christian fell again in set three to make it a 2-1 deficit. The Lady Chaps fell in a tough set 25-18. Lubbock Christian trailed by as many as seven points as Saint Mary's grabbed the advantage for good at 14-13 in a set that was tied up four times before the Rattlers took over in the second half of the stanza.
SET 4 | Lubbock Christian lost the fourth set and the match, falling 25-18. The Lady Chaps trailed by as many as seven points as Saint Mary's grabbed the advantage for good at 4-3 and Lubbock Christian wasn't able to recover in a set that was knotted up three times before the Rattlers took over with an early 7-0 run to get into the driver's seat.
Kiana Fallaha led LCU with five kills in the set.
WHAT'S NEXT
LCU plays their final road match of the regular season Saturday at 1 p.m. from Austin, Texas, as they face St. Edward's.
