LAREDO, Texas (September 21, 2024) – Kayton Genenbacher's 56 assists, part of a double-double with 11 digs, moved her into ninth place all-time in career assists for Lubbock Christian University. Kiana Fallaha added 20 kills and 12 digs for a double-double, but the Lady Chaparrals fell 3-2 (23-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-22, 9-15) to Texas A&M International Saturday at the Kinesiology and Convocation Building, wrapping up the Lone Star Conference Crossover.
The non-conference loss extended their losing streak to four matches and dropped Lubbock Christian to 4-6 on the season. The match was their final pre-conference contest of the season. The Lady Chaps were led by a double-double from Kiana Fallaha, who registered 20 kills and 12 digs on the day. Bryleigh Schweer and Lily Bickley, who hit .520, each added 13 kills to help the offense. On the defensive end, Olivia Elofsson chipped in for the Lady Chaps with 14 digs to go with three blocks from Bickley.
Game Notes
» Lubbock Christian had four players in double figures in kills, led by 20 from Fallaha, which marked her third match with at least 20 kills this season. Schweer's 13 kills mark her highest as a member of the Lady Chaps (her career high is 14, which occurred as a member of Dordt).
» Lubbock Christian had three players in double figures in digs, with Olivia Eloffson leading the team with 14. Eloffson, who grabbed her fifth double-figure dig performance of the season, led LCU in digs for a second consecutive game.
» Lily Bickley was efficient in attacking situations in the match, accumulating 13 kills while hitting .520 (season-high percentage). Bickley helped LCU produce a .298 hitting percentage, which is their highest kill percentage in a losing effort since falling to Colorado School of Mines on Sept. 10, 2021 while hitting .304.
» Leddy Rae Guinn had a match-high four aces in the loss. Coming off a career-high two aces Friday, the freshman produced another career high and both matches included a pair of aces coming on consecutive serves.
» Kiana Fallaha registered a double-double with 20 kills and 12 digs, leading to her fourth double-double of the season and 16th of her career. Fallaha had 61 total attacks in the match, marking the fourth time this season she has had at least 60 attacks in a match this season.
» Kayton Genenbacher surpassed 50 assists in a match for a third time on the season, with her total of 56. The total places her with 2,477 career assists, which moved her past Mallory Powell (2,430 assists from 2013-17) and into ninth place on LCU's all-time career assist list. She needs 33 assists to become the ninth Lady Chap in program history to reach 2,500 career assists.
» More on Genenbacher, as she added 11 digs to complete her fifth double-double of the season and 29th of her LCU career.
» TAMIU improved to 3-6 on the season behind 21 kills from Aryanna Ledet.
» Lubbock Christian is 2-2 this season in five-set matches. They went 4-1 last season in five-set matches. LCU has gone five sets in four of the ir last seven matches played.
» LCU fell to 0-3 in true road games this season.
» The Lady Chaps are now 1-7 historically in matches part of the LSC Crossover.
» LCU is now looking to shake a four-match losing streak, which is their longest since September 2022 and both streaks involve matches involved in the LSC Crossover.
» Lubbock Christian fell to TAMIU for the second time all-time and both losses have come in consecutive matches played in Laredo. LCU continues to lead the all-time series (17-2).
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Lady Chaps lost set one 25-23 despite a solid showing on the attacking end. Lubbock Christian registered a .366 attack percentage with 17 kills in the set loss. LCU trailed 24-17, but responded with a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 24-23 before Sierra Long put the set away with a kill for TAMIU. Payton Murray (5) and Fallaha (4) combined for nine kills.
SET 2 | Lubbock Christian tied the match at 1-1 with a 25-18 set-two win. The Lady Chaps took a 1-0 lead and never looked back in the set to secure the victory. Lubbock Christian opened up as much as an eight-point lead at 18-10 before finishing off the set, totaling 15 kills along the way. The Lady Chaps hit .324 over the course of the set. Gennenbacher produced 14 assists, with Fallaha leading LCU with seven kills.
SET 3 | Lubbock Christian lost set three, putting the Lady Chaps in a 2-1 deficit. The Lady Chaps came up short by the score of 25-20. Texas A&M International grabbed the advantage for good at 17-16 in a set that was tied up seven times before the Dustdevils took over in the second half of the stanza behind a 4-0 run. Bickley had four kills on five attacks in the frame.
SET 4 | Lubbock Christian then responded to win set four 25-22 to force a fifth set. The Lady Chaps persevered in a back-and-forth set to win in a stanza that featured four lead changes and was tied 10 times. Neither team was able to grab a lead larger than four points along the way. The Lady Chaps win came in a stanza where 17 of their 25 points came via the kill (including their last four points).Bickley had another impressive set with five kills on seven attacks.
SET 5 | Lubbock Christian came up short in a back-and-forth match, winning the second and fourth sets, but losing the first, third and fifth, which they dropped by the score of 15-9, to fall in the match. The Lady Chaps fell behind by as many as seven points before losing the fifth set. TAMIU had a 12-4 advantage in kills in the frame, with Ledet and Mia Molina each producing five kills.
WHAT'S NEXT
LCU opens conference play with their first four conference matches on the road. Their Lone Star Conference opener is set for Friday at 6 p.m. in Denton, Texas against Texas Woman's.
