LAREDO, Texas (September 19, 2024) – Lone Star Conference play is right around the corner, so as a preview of conference play, Lubbock Christian University joins the rest of the conference participating in the Lone Star Conference Crossover. LCU heads to Laredo, where LCU will play non-conference games against UT Permian Basin (Friday at 6 p.m.) and Texas A&M International (Saturday at 1 p.m.) inside TAMIU's Kinesiology & Convocation Building.
 

LSC CROSSOVER
OPPONENT	LOCATION	DAY	TIME (CT)	WATCH	STATS
UT Permian Basin	Laredo, Texas	Fri, Sept. 20	6:00 p.m.	Video	Stats
Texas A&M Int'l	Laredo, Texas	Sat, Sept. 21	1:00 p.m.	Video	Stats

 
LOOKING AT UTPB
- The Lady Chaps and Falcons first squared off in 1995 and have met 52 times since, with LCU owning a 42-10 series advantage over the Falcons.  LCU, winners of the prior two meetings, had won 15 consecutive matches prior to 2019, but UTPB has won six of the last 10 meetings. The Lady Chaps and UTPB have not met in a neutral site setting since a 3-0 LCU win Sept. 9, 2016 in Stephenville, Texas. The two programs were former Heartland Conference foes and LCU was 6-0 all-time in Heartland action against the Falcons.

- UT Permian Basin finished 10^th in the LSC last season with an 8-8 mark. They dropped their final three matches to miss the LSC Championships and finished with a 17-10 overall record. They are tied for ninth in the LSC Preseason Poll. UTPB is 6-2 this season and have won six consecutive matches (their last two in straight sets, including a 3-0 win Thursday over Texas A&M International). They have won seven consecutive sets. UTPB is also 2-2 in neutral site play.  

- CJ Allard is in his first season as head coach of the Falcons. He has been a head coach at the collegiate beach volleyball level, but his history indoors includes assistant coaching gigs at Northeastern, Coastal Carolina, and UNC Greensboro,

- UT Permian Basin has demonstrated impressive defensive prowess, holding opponents to a hitting percentage of just .108, the lowest among LSC teams. They forced Sul Ross and New Mexico Highlands into negative hitting percentages in their prior meetings, and the highest mark they have allowed is .194 (against Central Oklahoma).

- Chyra Thompson of UT Permian Basin currently ranks fourth in hitting percentage among LSC leaders, with a hitting percentage of .360. Over the course of the season, she has accumulated 65 kills while appearing in 28 sets. Her performance includes 136 total attempts and 16 errors. Thompson ranks second in the LSC in blocks per set (1.11), achieving a total of 31 blocks (6 solo and 25 assisted). She has registered an average of 2.32 kills per set (31^st in LSC), totaling 65 kills so far.

LOOKING AT TAMIU
- The Lady Chaps were a perfect 16-0 against the Dustdevils all-time until falling 3-1 in their lone 2022 meeting (Oct. 15, 2022). LCU won the only matchup last season (3-1) in Lubbock (Oct. 21, 2023) to move to 17-1 all-time against the Dustdevils. Twelve (12) of the 17 victories have come in 3-0 sweeps for LCU (seven of last 10). The lone LCU loss in the series came in LCU's previous contest played in Laredo.

- The season began positively with a 3-1 victory against West Virginia State on September 5, but the team faced challenges in subsequent matches, suffering three consecutive losses: 3-0 defeats to West Texas A&M, Ferris State and to Central Missouri. After a tough outing against St. Mary's, where they lost 3-0, TAMIU rebounded with a hard-fought 3-2 win against Anderson on September 14. However, their most recent match against UT Permian Basin ended in a 0-3 loss Thursday in their home-opener. They are currently 2-5. They entered the season carrying the LSC Preseason Poll No.8 ranking, as they finished eighth last season with a 10-6 LSC record (went 19-11 overall).

- Tammie Jimenez is a first-year head coach at the helm of TAMIU. After playing at Frank Phillips College, she completed her degree at St. Mary's University and later earned a master's from the University of Phoenix. Jimenez gained coaching experience at Midland College, where she served as an assistant coach.

- Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) stands out in opponent hitting percentage, ranking second in the Lone Star Conference with a mark of .145. TAMIU has allowed 315 kills on 1,160 attempts. Additionally, TAMIU ranks fifth in the conference in digs, with 412 total digs, averaging 14.21 digs per set. This combination of a solid opponent hitting percentage and robust digging performance contributes to their ability to control the pace of the game.

- Lixai Perez, a fifth-year defensive specialist/libero from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, has emerged as a crucial player for TAMIU this season, contributing significantly despite the team's 2-6 record. Statistically, Perez ranks among the top players in the Lone Star Conference in several key defensive metrics. She has recorded a high of 30 digs in a match against East Central, averaging 4.67 digs per set across eight matches (sixth in the LSC).
 
LADY CHAP NOTES
- Lubbock Christian University faced a challenging weekend at the Route 92 Classic in San Francisco, Calif., concluding the tournament with a 1-3 record. On September 13, LCU opened the event with a hard-fought match against Concordia Irvine, ultimately losing 3-2 despite a strong effort. Later that day, the team rallied to secure a dramatic 3-2 victory over Hawai'i Hilo. However, the momentum shifted on September 14, as LCU fell to Fresno Pacific 3-1 and lost to San Francisco State in straight sets, 3-0. They head to Laredo with a 4-4 record on the season, which includes a 4-2 neutral site record and 0-2 record in true road games.

- LCU stands out in the attacks per set category, currently averaging 38.78 attacks, which ranks second in the Lone Star Conference and 18th nationally. This high volume of attacks is crucial for generating offensive opportunities, and players like Kiana Fallaha and Lily Bickley are at the forefront, contributing significantly to this statistic. Fallaha ranks sixth in the conference with 11.94 attacks per set (ninth nationally). Overall, LCU's total attacks amount to 1,241, which ranks first in the conference and 19th nationally.
 
-Kiana Fallaha had a significant weekend at the Route 92 Classic, showcasing her offensive prowess as Lubbock Christian University's outside hitter. Over four matches, she totaled 71 attacks, ranking her among the top contributors in the Lone Star Conference (she ranks second in the LSC and 17^th nationally with 122 kills). Fallaha's standout performance came against Concordia Irvine, where she recorded 25 kills on 61 attacks, resulting in an impressive hitting percentage of .279. In the match against Hawai'i Hilo, she added 23 kills from 71 attacks. Fallaha closed the weekend with 15 kills against Fresno Pacific and a team co-leading eight against San Francisco State. Her 25 kills (against CUI) matched a career high and she became the first Lady Chap in their NCAA-era (2015 season) to have multiple performances of at least 25 kills (of game-by-game files electronically on file dating back to 2008, no Lady Chap has completed the task until Fallaha's feat against CUI).

- This season marks LCU's fourth season under coach Giboney. The Lady Chaps seventh head coach in program history has jumped into his 20th year of NCAA coaching. Giboney, who has four NCAA Tournament appearances and seven conference titles on his resume, surpassed 400 coaching victories in his first season with LCU and has a career coaching mark of 436-208. The Chaps head coach entered the season as the 29th best-active head coach in win percentage (.679) and as the 27th best-active head coach in victories (432). He has the third-highest win total of head coaches with less than 20 years of head coaching experience. Giboney is a native of Southern California and LCU's win over Hawai'i Hilo was his first win on California soil (the games of the Route 92 Classic was his first to coach in California).

- Setter Kayton Genenbacher currently sits 10^th all-time in LCU's career record books for assists with 2,400. She needs 31 to move into ninth and past Mallory Powell, who had 2,430 from 2013-2017. Currently, Genenbacher 36th nationally in assists per set with an average of 10.06, which places her fourth in the Lone Star Conference. She has amassed a total of 322 assists this season (fourth in LSC and 24^th nationally).  
 
-The Lady Chaps have shown potential in several key statistical categories within the Lone Star Conference and at the national level. Notably, the team's digs per set average of 16.31 ranks sixth in the conference and 62nd nationally, highlighting a solid defensive effort, especially with standout performances from players like Leddy Rae Guinn (11^th in LSC with 3.8 digs per set)  and Abby Benitez (18^th in LSC with 3.22 digs per set), who have contributed significantly to this total. On the offensive side, the team's kills per set average of 13.16 is respectable, placing sixth in the conference, with Kiana Fallaha (second in points per set and 83^rd nationally, 4.03) and Lily Bickley (12^th in LSC, 3.42) leading the way in scoring.

- This season marks the third season in the LSC for the Lone Star Crossover. LCU is 1-3 all-time in the crossover. In 2022, LCU was 1-2 in San Angelo, Texas, and last season LCU was 0-3 at home, serving as a host of the event.

- All of Lubbock Christian University's games in Laredo can be watched via live streaming on FloSports. FloSports has recently partnered with the Lone Star Conference to offer a subscription-based service that provides live video coverage. A subscription to FloSports gives you access to all content on their platform. For more details, visit www.lcuchaps.com/live.