PUEBLO, Colo. (September 7, 2024) – Lubbock Christian University swept their Saturday slate of matches at the Steel City Showcase, defeating Lake Superior State 3-0 and edging Minnesota Crookston 3-2 in a five-set thriller inside Massari Arena.
GAME 1 – LCU 3, LSSU 0
It was an early 8:30 a.m. (local Pueblo) first serve, but the Lady Chaps were alert and cruised to a three-set sweep (25-23, 25-18, 25-21) over the Lake Superior State Lakers to open Saturday's play. The Lady Chaps offense was paced by Payton Murray and Kiana Fallaha, who each finished with 10 kills and top-notch hitting marks. Murray accumulated a hitting percentage of .588 and Fallaha hit .435. Fallaha also led the team with seven digs.
Game Notes
» LCU served up nine aces, which is tied for the ninth-most in a three-set match for matches dating back to 2008. It is their highest total in a three-set match since posting 12 on Oct. 22, 2022 at Cameron. Lily Bickley had a match-high and career-high three aces in the win. Bickley, a junior, has four aces this season and never served for LCU prior to the season.
» The Lady Chaps hit .359 in the match. which is a mark they only topped once last season. LCU had 42 kills on 103 attacks, with a low of five errors. The five errors are the fewest in LCU's NCAA era and the lowest total by the Lady Chaps since Oct. 3, 2009 (against John Brown).
» Payton Murray had a team-high 10 kills for Lubbock Christian. The amount marked her 12th career game with at least 10 kills.
» Lubbock Christian got a team-high seven digs from Kiana Fallaha, who also had two aces and led LCU with 12 points.
» Lubbock Christian attackers were helped by a team-high 32 assists from Kayton Genenbacher.
» Jade Workman made her collegiate debut in the third set. The freshman from Odessa, Texas produced and a kill and two blocks in the 25-21 set win.
» LSSU fell to 1-3 with the loss, despite a match-high 18 kills from Mariana Velasque.
» The meeting marked LCU's first-ever meeting against Lake Superior State in program history.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Lady Chaps earned a set-one victory 25-23 thanks to a solid showing on the attacking side. Lubbock Christian registered a .355 attack percentage with 13 kills in the set victory. After the lead changed hands two times, and the Lady Chaps trailing 22-20, the Lady Chaps took control for good with a 5-1 scoring advantage to victory. Kiana Fallaha led LCU with four kills in the set.
SET 2 | Lubbock Christian took set two 25-18 to quickly jump to a 2-0 lead. The Lady Chaps took control of the set lead early on at 2-1 and never looked back. Lubbock Christian opened its biggest lead of the stanza, seven points, to close out the set, collecting 15 kills while only notching one attack error in the process. The Lubbock Christian offense also got a boost from four aces in the stanza. Bickley had all three of her aces in the set. Payton Murray and Bryleigh Schweer co-led LCU in the set with four kills each, as LCU had a .400 attack percentage in the frame.
SET 3 | Lubbock Christian took the third set to finish off the match. The Lady Chaps won the set 25-21 thanks to a strong showing on the attacking end. Lubbock Christian put together a .324 attack percentage with 14 kills in the set win. The Lady Chaps opened up a 19-14 lead in the stanza and coasted to victory from there. The Lubbock Christian offense also got a boost from three aces in the stanza. Lubbock Christian's front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking four Lake Superior State attacks in the stanza (two by Workman). Fallaha closed out the match with five kills in the set. LSSU's Valasque had six kills in the set..
GAME 2 – LCU 3, UMC 2
Lubbock Christian closed Saturday's play with a rollercoaster win over Minnesota Crookston in five sets (20-25, 25-19, 24-26, 25-23, 15-13). The nonconference victory boosted the Lady Chaps' overall record to 3-1 on the young season.
The Lady Chaps offense was paced by Kiana Fallaha, who finished with 18 kills on the day. Lily Bickley added 13 and Payton Murray chipped in with 11 as part of a Lubbock Christian attack that had four players with double-digit kills. Defensively, LCU had three players reach double figures in digs, including Kayton Genenbacher, who produced a career-high 29 digs to complete a double-double. LCU also received 25 digs from Abby Benitez and 14 from Leddy Rae Guinn.
Game Notes
» Lubbock Christian had four players in double figures in kills, led by the season-high 18 from Fallaha, who has posted at least 10 kills in all four matches this season. Bickley's 13 kills and Murray's 11 provided them their second double-figure kill performances of the season. Sophomore Tatum Fleitman notched a career high in kills, with 10 for her first double-figure kill outing.
» LCU produced 90 digs, which is a mark they only topped once last season. Genenbacher led LCU with her career-high 29 assists, to go along with 48 assists for her second double-double of the season and the 26th of her career.
» LCU posted their sixth-highest total in attacks since 2008 and their most since 230 on Oct. 6, 2016 (against St. Edward's), as they produced 221 attacks. Fallaha had 60 total attacks.
» The match had 15 lead changes (five in the decisive fifth set) and the score was tied on 28 occasions (10 in the first set).
» Lubbock Christian is 1-0 this season in five-set matches. They went 4-1 last season in five-set matches.
» Minnesota Crookston (2-2) received double-doubles from four different Golden Eagles. Madison Carsten (16k,14d), Bailey Teveldal (44a, 10d), Bailey Schaefer (13k, 10a) and Carizma Muth (13k,13d) each.
» The meeting marked LCU's first-ever meeting against Minnesota Crookston in program history.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Lady Chaps found themselves in an early deficit, dropping the first set 25-20. UMC grabbed the advantage for good at 18-17 in a set that was knotted up 10 times before the Golden Eagles rallied from a 17-14 deficit with an 11-3 run to close the set. Lily Bickley led LCU with four kills in the set.
SET 2 | Lubbock Christian fired back after dropping the first set to take set two 25-19, tying the match at one set apiece. A 6-0 run by UMC put LCU behind 11-8, but LCU responded with a 6-0 run. They cruised late with an 8-3 run to clinch the set. Fallaha led LCU with six kills in the frame.
SET 3 | Lubbock Christian dropped the third set, putting the Lady Chaps in a 2-1 hole. The Lady Chaps dropped a tight set, losing 26-24 in a stanza that was tied six times and had four lead changes. A kill by Fallaha put LCU up 21-17 late in the set, but a 9-3 UMC run sealed the set at 26-24. Murray (6) and Fallaha (5) combined for 11 kills in the set for the Lady Chaps.
SET 4 | Lubbock Christian then responded to secure set four 25-23 to force a fifth set. The Lady Chaps survived a furious UMC rally, holding on to win after leading by seven points at 19-12 earlier in the set. The Lady Chaps win came in a stanza where 17 of their 25 points came via the kill (Genenbacher assisting on 13 of them). Fallaha, Bickley and Fleitman each had four kills for LCU.
SET 5 | Down two sets to one, Lubbock Christian fired back to win the final two sets, culminating in a 15-13 fifth-set victory, to take the match 3-2. The Lady Chaps persevered in a back-and-forth final set to emerge victorious in a stanza that featured five lead changes and was tied eight times. Neither team led by more than three points in the set. LCU trailed 13-11 before Murray came out of the timeout with a kill and Fallaha sealed it with two kills to claim the match.
WHAT'S NEXT
LCU heads to California and to the Route 92 Classic, which is hosted by Cal State East Bay and San Francisco State also co-hosting the event. LCU will play all four of their scheduled matches at San Francisco State, beginning with an 11 a.m. (Central) match Friday morning against Concordia Irvine. All matches can be viewed on FloSports.
