MIAMI SHORES, Fla. (September 5, 2026) – Lubbock Christian University plays two matches Saturday, to close their experience at Barry (Buccaneer) Invitational, as the Lady Chaparrals opens play at 9 a.m. (CT) against Converse before facing host No.15 Barry at 1:30 p.m. (CT) inside Health & Sports Center.
  

BARRY INVITATIONAL
OPPONENT	LOCATION	DAY	TIME (CT)	WATCH	STATS
Converse	Miami Shores, Fla.	Sat., Sept. 5	9 a.m.	Video	Stats
No.15 Barry	Miami Shores, Fla.	Sat., Sept. 5	1:30 p.m.	Video	Stats

     
LCU sits at 3-3 after enduring back-to-back straight-set losses against elite ranked competition to open its first-ever trip to Florida. The Lady Chaps kicked off tournament play Thursday with a 3-0 loss (25-17, 25-19, 25-17) to top-ranked No. 1 St. Cloud State, where the Huskies outpaced LCU in kills 50-23 while hitting a highly efficient .303. LCU's stretch against national powerhouses continued Friday afternoon in a 3-0 defeat (25-15, 25-21, 25-16) against No. 21 Lynn. Despite a breakout match from freshman Kayson Reeves, who led the squad with 10 kills and a blistering .643 hitting percentage, the Lady Chaps were ultimately hindered by Lynn's 10 service aces and held to a .088 team hitting percentage, setting up a crucial bounce-back opportunity in Saturday's final matchups.
 
LOOKING AT CONVERSE
- LCU and Converse are meeting for the very first time. The Lady Chaps have never faced a South Carolina based program, as Converse is based out of Spartanburg, S.C.
 
- Converse moves to 1-4 overall after dropping a pair of straight-set matches to Barry and St. Cloud State on the opening day of the Barry Invitational. The Valkyries opened their season at the Redderson Invitational last week, dropping a four-set match at Lander, earning a five-set win over UVA Wise and falling in four sets to Lee. The victory over UVA Wise marked the first career win for first-year head coach Jacob Bostic. Converse is coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons, including a 21-8 campaign in 2025 with a program-record 16 Conference Carolinas victories, and was picked fifth in the league's 2026 preseason poll.
 
- Senior outside hitter Bree Lyons leads Converse with 51 kills and averages 2.68 per set, while junior Ella Ruckman has added 48 kills at 2.53 per set. Ariel Bryant follows with 36 kills, and Alayah Robertson has 37 kills while sharing the team lead with 14 total blocks. Setter Alysha Arroyo has 139 assists, averaging 7.32 per set, and has produced four double-doubles through five matches. As a team, Converse is averaging 10.79 kills, 10.16 assists and 14.21 digs per set.
 
- Freshman libero/defensive specialist Scarlett Xiong continues to anchor the back row, leading Converse with 82 digs and averaging 4.32 per set. She keeps her 5 service aces on the season and previously recorded her first career double-double (15 digs, 10 assists) in the win over UVA Wise. The Valkyries have totaled 30 aces and 29 blocks through 19 sets, but opponents are hitting .225 against them while Converse owns a .107 attack percentage.
 
LOOKING AT BARRY
- Barry completes the circuit, as all four teams LCU is facing at the Barry Invitational are programs LCU is facing for the first time ever.
 
-  No. 13 Barry moves to 3-2 overall after sweeping its opening-day double-header at the Barry Invitational on Friday. The Buccaneers opened the home tournament with a 3-0 sweep of Converse, powered by Veronika Eremeeva, who recorded a career-high 7 service aces. In the nightcap, Barry upset No. 1 St. Cloud State in a dramatic 3-2 thriller, marking the third consecutive year the program has defeated the nation's top-ranked team. Valeriya Kozlova fueled the upset with 22 kills and a career-high 7 blocks in her first start of the year, while Ivana Zujovic anchored a season-high 16-block defensive performance by tying her school record with 11 block assists. The Buccaneers, who opened the season 1-2 at the Sandy Hoffman Memorial Tournament, are coming off a 25-5 campaign in 2025. They finished 16-4 in Sunshine State Conference play last year [1] and were picked second in the 2026 SSC preseason poll.
 
- Senior outside hitter Varvara Osychenko leads the Barry attack with 61 kills, averaging 3.21 per set while hitting .248. Veronika Eremeeva follows closely with 55 kills at 3.24 per set, while Sofya Toropova has contributed 32 kills with a .272 attacking percentage. Earlier this season, Osychenko produced 18 kills and 10 digs in the sweep of Bentley, while McKayla Theleus added 14 kills on a .429 clip with a career-high 12 digs in that same match. As a collective unit, Barry is hitting .283 on the year.
 
- Thalia Iglesias, a senior, directs the offense with 141 assists, averaging 7.83 per set for a team that clips 12.25 kills and 11.60 assists per frame. Barry's front line features considerable height, including 6-foot-11 sophomore Valeriya Kozlova, who made her first start of the season yesterday and averages a blistering 4.00 kills per set. Defensively, Ivana Žujovic commands the net with a team-high 24 total blocks, helping push the Buccaneers' total to 42.0 blocks across 20 sets. The Buccaneers showcased their high offensive efficiency earlier in the year against Bentley, hitting .347 with 46 kills in their first sweep of the schedule.
 
HOW TO WATCH
All matches in Florida can be viewed on the SSC Digital Network, which is a free service (not part of FloCollege and is not included in your FloCollege subscription) at http://www.sunshinestateconference.tv. The SSC Digital Network is also available as on over-the-top (OTT) platforms Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Apple TV 4th Gen. Mobile devices including iPhone, iPad, and Android will work with the default web browser. Devices should be kept up to date and connected to a reliable data connection for optimal playback. Apple users and owners of an AppleTV device can simply 'throw' the webcast from their iPhone or iPad using the AirPlay feature. Computer users can output their display directly to an HDMI signal if supported, otherwise a converter may be required. These options may require advance setup and we suggest using an 'On Demand' archive to test prior to watching a live event.